Patna, Oct 2 (Inditop.com) At least 50 Maoist guerrillas attacked a Bihar village and brutally gunned down 16 people, including five children, after tying their hands and legs, police said Friday. Angry villagers attacked the deputy chief minister and other politicians who visited the spot.
The massacre, which appeared to follow a dispute over land, took place late Thursday in Amausi village in Khagaria district, about 200 km north of Patna.
Villagers told police that the guerrillas had tied the hands and legs of the victims before shooting them dead.
Eleven people have been detained and are being interrogated.
The issue gained political overtones with demands for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s resignation from opposition leaders Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan.
Angry villagers attacked the vehicle of state Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and roughed him up when he visited the spot. Agriculture Minister Renu Devi and a local legislator Punam Yadav, who were accompanying Modi, were also assaulted.
“Angry villagers shouted slogans against the state government and Modi. They roughed up Modi, who was somehow saved by police and left the village immediately,” a villager said.
The villagers were angry over failure of the local police to provide security to them and take any action despite being informed about the threat four months ago.
Bihar police chief Anand Shankar said that the priority was to arrest those involved in the incident.
“Over 50 armed Maoist rebels attacked Amausi village and shot dead 16 villagers, including five children,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey said, adding that the killing appeared to be over a land dispute but that the police were still investigating.
“All senior district officials are camping in the village and security forces have been deployed. The Special Task Force along with district police have launched combing operations against Maoists in Khagaria,” Pandey added.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condemned the incident and asked top officials of the state administration to investigate.
