Incident Summary:
04/09/2006: About 20-25 cadres of the Communist Party of India (CPI-Maoist) forces blew up a railway station and portions of a railway track on the Gaya-Dhanbad section of Mughalsarai division in the Gaya (District) of Bihar, India, at 2:15 a.m. by storming the Bansi Nala halt station and detonating dynamites to raze the room structure down, and then kidnapped four railway staff members.
Overview
GTD ID:
200604090005
When:
2006-04-09
Country:
India
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Bihar
City:
Mughalsarai
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
Type of Attack () |
Facility/Infrastructure Attack |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Police of Gaya (District) |
Specific Description |
Police responding to the situation on halt station |
Nationality of Target |
India |
Target Type: Transportation |
Name of Entity |
Administration of Railway of Gaya (District) in India |
Specific Description |
Halt station on the Gaya-Dhanbad section of Mughalsarai division |
Nationality of Target |
India |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
4 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Major (likely > $1 million but < $1 billion) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Explosives |
Dynamite/TNT |
Weapon Details |
Reports said while one group took the abducted victims away, the another one had blown up the station by planting dynamites and other explosives. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
Railway property has become a soft target of the Maoists who are protesting the arrest of four of their top leaders. The state administration made elaborate security arrangements in these districts in view of the Maoist shutdown and threat to target government buildings and offices. --The Maoists deliberately told their hostages not to worry since they professed that the administration and police were their real targets. Train movement on Mughal Sarai-Gaya Grand chord section of Mughal Sarai division had been suspended. --The two cadres Guddu Sharma and Vrinda Singh had been arrested on April 2. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
“Maoists Target Station,” The Statesman (India), April 10, 2006. |
“Maoists call shutdown in Bihar, attack railway post,” Indo-Asian News Service, April 09, 2006. |
Hindustan Times, “Mugal Sarai-Gaya route closed, Naxalites blow up halt station in Bihar,” Hindustan Times, April 09, 2006. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties