Bus owners suspend operations to protest extortion by Maoist rebels in Jharkhand
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Palamu, March 30 (ANI): Bus owners in Jharkhand have suspended their operations in the wake of assaults and extortions by banned Maoist rebels. Maoists have been regularly extorting money from bus drivers in several districts of the state with authorities failing to take any action. Those who have refused to pay extortion money are beaten up badly and their vehicles torched. Bus owners have refused to ply buses till the government assures police protection to them. As a result, services in major routes of Ranchi, Panki and Lesliganj have been badly affected. A local legislator of Panki district, Bidesh Singh, met the bus operators on Monday (March 30) and assured them of police protection. The Maoists, also known as Naxals in India have operated for decades across a wide swath of central and eastern India, and grew in strength during recent times in areas where poor, tribal villagers came into conflict with mining companies seeking resources for industrialisation.
