Patna, Jul 31 (IANS): A group of armed Maoists attacked a Bihar railway station on the Patna-Kolkata route on Saturday morning and held the station master captive for around half-an-hour. The insurgents also threatened to explode the station building.

The railway operation was disrupted for more than 4 hours on the route as the Chaura railway station came under siege It falls in the Maoist-hit Jamui district.

The insurgents, in police fatigues, reached Chaura around 6 a.m. and barged into the cabin of Station Master Vinay Kumar. They ordered Kumar to stop operations as they were celebrating Maoist week in the region.

"When the station master asked them why he would do such a thing, they introduced themselves as Maoists and pulled out their fire arms," said one of the other railway employees at the station, an eyewitness, who requested anonymity.

Most of the officials present at the railway station were shocked. It was a tense moment when they saw the armed Maoists inside the station premises. "After sometime, though the officials, including station master Vinay Kumar, managed to flee," he said.

Superintendent Jamui, Pramod Kumar Mandal, confirmed the incident. "We have initiated a search operation of the entire area, including railway tracks and railway station and then given green signal to railway officials to resume operation on this route," Mandal said.

Major trains like Himgiri express were stopped at various railway stations along the route.

The railway operation was resumed after police and CRPF officials checked entire areas and gave the green signal.