Maoists call for shutdown, torch tractors in Bihar

Patna: Maoists called for a two-day shutdown beginning Tuesday in Bihar over the killing of their men and burnt down eight tractors and set ablaze a mobile tower in separate incidents, police said.

"A group of armed Maoists torched eight tractors in Agrail village in Vaishali and set ablaze a mobile tower in Gausganj village near Paliganj in Patna early Tuesday," a police official said.

Maoists are protesting against the killing of twelve of their men in neighbouring Jharkhand early this month and the security forces' operation against them, police said.

Taking serious note of the incident, officials at the police headquarters in Patna have directed the district police to intensify combing operations against Maoists.