Three villagers were killed and four injured when members of People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a breakaway faction of CPI(Maoist), opened unannounced firing on a gram sabha being held in Raitonang village under Arki police station in Khunti district, 40km from here, on Monday evening.
In around 40 rounds fired by some of the 25 armed PLFI men, only seven men were hit because people took advantage of the trees and bushes to hide and escape.
A cold-war is going on in Khunti between extremists and villagers for the past few months. The villagers, encouraged by the police, have been uniting against extremists and the extremists have been warning them of serious consequences if they act smart under the influence of the police. The killing is the fallout of the tussle.
Khunti SP Anish Gupta said: "PLFI men thought that the villagers were holding 'shanti-sabha' (meetings against Maoists/extremists are called shanti-saha) and opened fire." The incident has established a reign of terror in the village and people, sandwiched between police and extremists, perceive threat to life.
The crime scene is located in a very remote location whic has no mobile connectivity. The villagers returned to the crime scene to collect the dead bodies and help the injured sometime after the PLFI men walked away. A police officer said the police came to know about the incident late on Monday night when villagers brought the injured to Khunti's Sadar hospital around 10pm.
The dead were identified as Raukan Purti, 60, Deet Munda, 40, and Sukhram Munda, 55. The injured men are Vikram Purti, Paku Purti, Toto Purti and Sinu Munda. Doctors at Sadar hospital referred the injured to Rims. Doctors at Rims did not allow journalists to interact with the injured.
Sonu Purti, a relative of Paku Purti, said the villagers hid in the forests and hills to escape the marauding PLFI gunmen. "No policeman came to our village at night to help us. We were left at God's mercy," Sonu said.
A villager said the meeting was being held to discuss the preparations for an upcoming harvest festival. "One of the PLFI men asked us why we were holding peace meeting. We told them it was gram sabha, but they did not believe us and opened fire without making any announcement of it," he said. The PLFI men left the crime scene after warning of more such attacks if the villagers do not stop holding peace meetings.
More than a dozen peace meetings have been held in Khunti in last few months. Hundreds of villagers armed with traditional weapons attended these meetings organized with the support and encouragement of police. The villagers raise a voice against the extremists - both Maoists and PLFI - and ask people not to allow them to cross through their villages. The villagers are the worst victims of extremism. The extremists seek foods, goats and roosters from poor people. If the villagers deny it to them, the extremists attack them. If they provide it to the extremists police brand them extremist sympathisers and harass them. The situation has made life worse for the villagers and they want to get rid of extremists.
In around 40 rounds fired by some of the 25 armed PLFI men, only seven men were hit because people took advantage of the trees and bushes to hide and escape.
A cold-war is going on in Khunti between extremists and villagers for the past few months. The villagers, encouraged by the police, have been uniting against extremists and the extremists have been warning them of serious consequences if they act smart under the influence of the police. The killing is the fallout of the tussle.
Khunti SP Anish Gupta said: "PLFI men thought that the villagers were holding 'shanti-sabha' (meetings against Maoists/extremists are called shanti-saha) and opened fire." The incident has established a reign of terror in the village and people, sandwiched between police and extremists, perceive threat to life.
The crime scene is located in a very remote location whic has no mobile connectivity. The villagers returned to the crime scene to collect the dead bodies and help the injured sometime after the PLFI men walked away. A police officer said the police came to know about the incident late on Monday night when villagers brought the injured to Khunti's Sadar hospital around 10pm.
The dead were identified as Raukan Purti, 60, Deet Munda, 40, and Sukhram Munda, 55. The injured men are Vikram Purti, Paku Purti, Toto Purti and Sinu Munda. Doctors at Sadar hospital referred the injured to Rims. Doctors at Rims did not allow journalists to interact with the injured.
Sonu Purti, a relative of Paku Purti, said the villagers hid in the forests and hills to escape the marauding PLFI gunmen. "No policeman came to our village at night to help us. We were left at God's mercy," Sonu said.
A villager said the meeting was being held to discuss the preparations for an upcoming harvest festival. "One of the PLFI men asked us why we were holding peace meeting. We told them it was gram sabha, but they did not believe us and opened fire without making any announcement of it," he said. The PLFI men left the crime scene after warning of more such attacks if the villagers do not stop holding peace meetings.
More than a dozen peace meetings have been held in Khunti in last few months. Hundreds of villagers armed with traditional weapons attended these meetings organized with the support and encouragement of police. The villagers raise a voice against the extremists - both Maoists and PLFI - and ask people not to allow them to cross through their villages. The villagers are the worst victims of extremism. The extremists seek foods, goats and roosters from poor people. If the villagers deny it to them, the extremists attack them. If they provide it to the extremists police brand them extremist sympathisers and harass them. The situation has made life worse for the villagers and they want to get rid of extremists.
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