**Maoist rebels in eastern India have blown up communication towers, railway tracks and a village council office on the second and final day of a strike.**The attacks in Bihar and Jharkhand states affected road and rail transport in areas where rebels have a presence.
No casualties were reported in the incidents in the two states.
India says that Maoist insurgents pose its biggest security threat. They operate in many states and say they are fighting for the rights of the poor.
The rebels called the strike in five states - Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh - in protest against “police atrocities”.
It comes days ahead of a planned offensive by the authorities against the rebels.
Growing presence
Nearly 100 suspected rebels entered a village in Bihar’s Munger district late on Monday and used dynamite to blow up a village council office, senior police official Neelmani said.
The rebels also blew up two mobile phone towers in Aurangabad and Gaya districts.
Many trains were stranded for more than eight hours after rebels reportedly blew up stretches of railway tracks in Bihar and Jharkhand, railway officials said.
On Monday, the opening day of the strike, the rebels blew up culverts and cut electricity to railways in Jharkhand. There were no casualties.
Maoists have a presence in more than 223 of India’s 600-odd districts across 20 states, according to the government.
There have been more than 1,400 cases related to violence by Maoists between January and August, according to official records. Nearly 600 civilians have died in the violence over that period.
The insurgents wield most influence in areas which are mostly poor and dominated by tribes people.
They are also areas widely seen as being rich in mineral wealth which the Maoists say is being handed over to corporate firms while the poor remain deprived.
Last week, at least 17 policemen were killed in a battle with Maoist insurgents in the western state of Maharashtra.
Mr Singh told police chiefs last month that a campaign against the rebels had failed to produce results.