12 massacred in Bihar

DALTONGANJ (Bihar), Nov 18 (PTI) — In a gruesome incident, 12 persons, including seven children, were killed as about 200 assailants swooped down on Loto village in Palamu district last night, but the police was clueless about the identity of the assailants.

Earlier, police sources had said the victims, belonging to a minority community family, which was reportedly sympathiser of a Naxalite outfit, the People’s War Group (PWG), was attacked by activists of the rival Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).

State Director-General of Police K. A. Jacob, on his return from the spot, told reporters at Patna that initial reports had suggested that it was an attack by the MCC, but the police was still to reach a definite conclusion in this regard. Certain other evidence suggested that it could be the result of an old enmity between two rival groups, he remarked.

About 200 heavily-armed unidentified assailants stormed the house of Gafoor Mian and slit the throat of 12 inmates with sharp-edged weapons. Besides seven children, three women were among those killed, he said. The MCC is generally identified with this method of killing.

Chief Minister Rabri Devi accompanied by RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav visited the spot. Stating that the state government would order "a thorough probe" into the incident, the Chief Minister announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 12 lakh for the survivors of the family besides provision of government jobs to them.

The DGP said family members of Gafoor Mian and Sher Mohammed were living together in the house.

Besides Gafoor Mian (60), other members of his family killed were his wife Kasibi Biwi (56), son Lal Mohammed (35), and his wife Najmun Khatun (30) and their three daughters Rojma Khatun (7), Shahnaj Khatun (12) and Guria (4) and the lone son Basbar Ansari (6).

Those killed in Sher Mohammed’s family were identified as Shogara Biwi (40) and her three sons — Ashraf Ansari, Asgar Ansari (8) and Sarwar Ansari (9).

The bodies of the victims which were brought to Daltonganj Sadar Hospital for post-mortem were handed over to their relatives for burial.

An alert was sounded in the adjoining extremist-dominated Garhwa, Aurangabad, Chatra and Gaya districts after the incident.

An intensive combing operation has been launched and entry and exit points of the extremist-hit Palamu district have been sealed to nab the killers.

Meanwhile, the BJP has demanded immediate resignation of the Chief Minister owning moral responsibility for the killing of minority community people, while the Congress held the state administration responsible for it.