Sixteen villagers shot dead by suspected Maoists

Khagaria, Oct 2 (PTI) In a midnight attack, heavily-armed
suspected Maoists swooped down on a village in Bihar's
Khagaria district and shot dead 16 villagers, mostly
teenagers, after tying their hands and feet.

The gunmen pulled the victims out of their huts in Amosi
Dharen Biara village, tied their hands and feet and fired at
them, ADG Headquarters Neelmani said Friday.

"Around 100 people, suspected to be Maoists, armed with
automatic weapons attacked the village and fired
indiscriminately late last night," Inspector General
(Operations) S K Bharadwaj said here in the eastern state.

A dispute on cultivation of land is said to be reason
behind the attack on the victims belonging to backward caste.

Neelmani said the attack was carried out on the villagers
by the suspected naxalites with the intention of grabbing the
land.

The victims belonged to Amdaicharua village and had been
living in makeshift camps on the land, he said.

Senior police officials, IG Operations and IG Bhagalpur,
are camping at the site and special task force has been
deployed for combing operations in the riverine area to nab
them, Neelmani said, adding police patrolling has been
increased as tension prevailed in the area.

Bodies have been kept at Morkahi police station from
where they would be sent to a government hospital for
post-mortem. PTI