Indian police official says Maoist rebels have killed 16 villagers in rural Bihar state
By APThursday, October 1, 2009
Police: Indian rebels kill 16 villagers
PATNA, India — Maoist rebels killed 16 people, including five children, in an early morning attack Friday on a rural village in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, a police official said.
Security forces were combing the villages and forests around the attacked village, Amosi Bharen, in search of the rebels, said Additional Director General of Police Neelmani, who uses only one name.
The village is about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Patna, the capital of the east Indian state of Bihar.
“The rebels attacked the village with the intention of ousting the villagers and grabbing their land,” Neelmani said.
Many of the victims owned large tracts of land in Amosi Bharen, he said.
The rebels have been fighting for more than three decades in several Indian states, demanding land and jobs for agricultural laborers and the poor. They frequently target police and government officials, whom they accuse of colluding with landlords and rich farmers to exploit the poor.
More than 2,000 people — including police, militants and civilians — have died in the violence in recent years.
