Suspected Maoists damaged rail tracks and removed fish-plates after holding captive a railway employee in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district, the police said on Thursday.
Movement of trains along the route was stopped. The incident took place late Wednesday near the Churk railway station, over 250 km from here.
"Nearly 40 people held the railway employee captive and started hitting the tracks with hard objects. Fish-plates were also removed and nearly 20-metre stretch of the track was taken out," superintendent of police P.P. Singh told reporters in Sonbhadra.
"Normally, such acts are committed by Maoists. We have constituted teams to nab those behind the incident," he added. According to the police, the railway employee was later set free by the attackers, who escaped. Work to restore rail traffic on the affected route was under way, officials said.