At least four people died in eastern India yesterday after two trains were derailed by suspected Maoist sabotage.

The deaths and eight injuries were caused when a passenger train came off the tracks near Chhapra town in Bihar state.

And a freight train derailed without any casualties in nearby town Motihari.

Evidence was found of an explosion, prompting local rail authorities to suspect the Maoist rebels who are active in the area.

Police also said they had found three crude bombs in a marketplace in a local town.

But Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: “It is too early to blame the Maoists. Let us wait for the report on the incident.”

And a senior police officer said a technical fault could be to blame.

A 2012 government report described poor safety standards on India’s railways as a “massacre” in which nearly 15,000 people died a year.