Maoist rebels attack train in India, kill policeman

Suspected Maoist rebels opened fire at a passenger train in India's eastern state of Bihar Thursday, killing a policeman and injuring five people, dpa quoted news reports and officials as saying. A group of 100 armed insurgents attacked the train near the Jamui town to loot weapons from a Railway Protection Force escort party onboard, police officer Amitabh Kumar Das said. "According to the information we have, an RPF policeman was martyred in the attack," Das said. "The train driver was also seriously injured." Broadcaster NDTV cited witnesses as saying that five more people on the train were injured in the attack. RPF officials said the militants seized two weapons from the RPF team and fled into the forests after a 30-minute encounter. The train was moving to the next station after the incident, railway officials said. Jamui, some 220 kilometres south-east of state capital Patna, is located in a region considered a stronghold of the left-wing insurgents. Maoist rebels, who claim they are leading an armed rebellion to secure the rights of the poor and marginalized people, are active in more than one-third of India's 626 administrative districts. They usually target security personnel and government installations and officials.