Maoists abducted and killed a local Congress leader in Jharkhand's Garhwa district ahead of their two-day bandh in five states today.

Bardhan Kachhu, a 45-year-old local tribal leader of Garhwa, was kidnapped from Barkol village around 8 pm last night by the Maoists and shot dead, Garhwa Superintendent of Police Richard Lakra said.

The Left-wing guerrillas are observing a 2-day bandh beginning midnight last night in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhatisgarh and Bihar against the alleged anti-people policies of the government.

This is the fifth 48-hour bandh this year, affecting mining activity in the mineral-rich state.

To avoid Maoist-pockets, up and down trains of Ranchi-Delhi Swarna Jayanti Express, Ranchi-Varanasi inter-city and Sambalpur-Varanasi inter-city have been diverted through Gomo-Gaya-Mughalsarai route, railway sources said here.

As per a new order, the trains will run at a speed of 65 km in Maoist areas during nights, the sources said.

Though security forces have been deployed in strength at strategic places, including national highways, buses and trucks have kept off the routes for fear of Maoist attack.

Orissa sees little response as normal life continues

The two-day Maoist bandh which began today evoked lukewarm response in Orissa though government bus services in some areas were suspended as a precautionary measure.

Life remained unaffected across the state, including areas affected by the ultras, as shops, business outfits, banks, offices, schools and other educational institutions remained open, police said.

No untoward incident was reported from any part of the state as security forces maintained a strict vigil, mainly in areas bordering Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, a senior police official said.

However, government buses did not ply in some areas of the state's southern region including Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada and Gajapati as a precautionary safety measure, sources said.

The bandh called by the Naxals in five states also drew little response in Malkangiri district, bordering Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, though vehicular traffic remained comparatively thin in some pockets, they said.

Similarly, it had little impact in Sundargarh district bordering Jharkhand as vehicular movement, business and commercial activities remained normal, they said, adding life was unaffected in the steel city of Rourkela too.

As part of efforts to prevent any untoward incident during the bandh period, security was tightened and patrolling intensified in Maoist-affected areas including Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagda, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Sundargarh, they added.