BJP's rail blockade hits train services in Bihar

Train services were disrupted in Bihar early Friday as the opposition BJP, protesting the denial of special category status to the state by the Congress-led UPA government at the centre, resorted to a rail blockade, police said.

Over two dozen trains, including Rajdhani Express, were forcibly halted by Bharatiya Janata Party workers. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at different railway stations in the state, said Ravinder Kumar, additional director general of police.

"Protestors blocked railway tracks in Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga, Hajipur and Bhagalpur, Madhepura, Nalanda, Jehanabad, disrupting train services. The BJP workers have been forcibly stopping trains at various railway stations since morning," a railway official said.

BJP leaders had appealed Thursday to avoid travelling by trains Friday.

Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi also requested passengers to cancel their train tickets.

The party had given call for rail blockade last week after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had called a shutdown in Bihar March 2 to protest the denial of special category status.