Suspected communist rebels kill 12 villagers in eastern India in apparent act of revenge

Suspected rebels kill 12 villagers in India

PATNA, India — Suspected Maoist rebels raided a village in eastern India early Thursday and killed at least 12 people in an apparent act of revenge after several guerrillas were captured and turned over to police.

Nearly 150 attackers set dozens of mud huts with thatched roofs ablaze, burning to death a family of four in Kasari, a village nearly 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Patna, capital of Bihar state, said U.S. Dutt, an inspector-general of state police.

Seven others were killed when the suspected rebels opened fire on villagers and dynamited some homes, Dutt told The Associated Press. Another five people were hospitalized and one later died from his injuries, said state official Amir Subhani.

Three villagers were kidnapped by the attackers, though one later returned to the village, Subhani said.

The early morning attack caught most of the villagers as they were sleeping and appeared to be motivated by revenge, Dutt said. The villagers turned eight suspected rebels over to police earlier this month.

No one immediately claimed responsibility.

The raid came two days after a remote police post in neighboring West Bengal state was attacked, leaving 24 police officers dead. The violence highlights the growing power of the insurgents, who are now active in 20 of the country’s 28 states.

The rebels have fought for more than four 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.

About 2,000 people — including police, militants and civilians — have been killed in violence over the past few years. The rebels are also known as Naxals, or Naxalites, after Naxalbari, the village in West Bengal state where their movement was born in 1967.