Got to know about it just now from Aaj Tak and now reading more about it on rediff I guess, the time has come for our railway minister to wakeup from a long sleep and take care of the security of passengers, specially Bihar side where these kind of things are happening more frequently.

250+ passengers in the train, whole train in control of Naxalites (more)…no communication between naxalites and railways / police…more than 12 incidents like this in a year…but still our guys haven’t learnt any lessons…

This is what article on rediff says

Naxalites have stormed a passenger train between Kummandi and Hedegada in Jharkhand and have gained complete control of the train, taking all passengers hostage.

“We are unable to establish any contact with the train crew. Guards of a goods train that crossed the said train have also said that there was no signal from the passenger train. Usually when two trains pass each other, the respective guards flash a signal to indicate all is fine. It looks like the Naxals have snatched the walkie-talkies of the guards,” said Central Railway Public Information Officer A K Chandra.

“The Railways has become a soft target in this region [Jharkhand and Bihar]. There have been at least a dozen Naxal attacks on railway installations in the past year,” Chandra said.

The railway officials said they will wait till dawn to launch any rescue operation.

“The area where they have stopped the train is surrounded by hills and has a very thick forest cover. Moreover, being Holi-eve, the train has more passengers than usual. So we are not ready to risk anything,” said a senior official.

He said the number of passengers held hostage may be anywhere between 200 and 400.

Sources said the Railway police personnel on duty did not board the train.

All trains on the route have either been halted or diverted.

Read the bold lines again..and think again…so where is the security Mr. Railway Minister?

Update: The area Latehar is one of the worst areas which is totally controlled by Naxalites, so instead of providing more security, there is no security at all there.

Update 2: They have released the train and no casualties have been reported. Detailed report here
Good Reads: Caste War and Red Terror on HT

Mera India