| Naxals kill seven in Jharkhand |
JAMSHEDPUR/RANCHI: A night-long raid by Maoists on Dighi village in East Singbhum district of Jharkhand left seven persons dead and sent the tribal-dominated area into a state of fear. The Maoists chopped off an ear of another villager in the Thursday night’s attack, which is believed to be in retaliation of the assault of three of their cadres on Sunday while they were sticking posters in the village. The police said they found bodies of two villagers on Friday.
The incident comes less than a fortnight after rural voters had turned out in large numbers to cast their votes in the Jamshedpur parliamentary bypoll despite a boycott call given by the Maoists. The bypoll was held following the killing of JMM MP Sunil Mahato by Maoists.
On Friday, an uneasy calm prevailed in Dighi, which was broken only by the arrival of VIPs, including chief minister Madhu Koda. According to villagers, hundreds of armed Maoists arrived in the village at night and torched homes and hurled bombs.
The attack continued till late into the night, they said. Eyewitnesses said Maoists arrived at 8 pm looking for Nimai Murmu (42), who headed the Nagrik Suraksha Samiti, Badal Pramanik (45), and Ram Hansda, who lives in neighbouring Maheshdola village. They killed Murmu and Pramanik and chopped off Hansda’s ear.
The villagers had beaten up three Naxalites whom they caught sticking posters in the village on Sunday and had handed them over to the police. "The Nagrik Suraksha Samiti has a strong presence in the village and we had thwarted attempts of Maoists to enrol women in a training camp held on a hilltop there between August 16 and 18," said Ram Hansda.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Naxals_kill_seven_in_Jharkhand/
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