Hijacked train released in India

[Coventina]

Source: CNN

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Suspected Maoist rebels in eastern India who held up a train carrying 300 passengers Wednesday ended their siege after a four-hour standoff, officials said.

No one was hurt, said A.K. Chandra of India's east-central railway.

The suspected rebels seized the train, apparently to protest that some former comrades are taking part in general elections that are under way in the country.

The Maoists didn't want the former rebels "to join the mainstream and, therefore, stopped this train," said Sarvendu Tathagat, deputy commission of the Latehar district in the state of Jharkhand.

Jharkhand is a mineral-rich state where rebels -- known as the Naxalites -- claim to be fighting for the rights of the poor and the dispossessed who have not benefited from the state's resources.



Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/04/22/india.hijack/

[redqueen]

1. So the Maoists are trying to stop the Naxalites from voting?

Not a very well-written article.