Patna: Maoist rebels have killed three members of a family in Bihar, after accusing them of being police informers, officials say.
The incident has sparked panic in the area.
Police said the heavily-armed rebels raided Kumtari village, in Jamui district, late on Thursday night and kidnapped three members of a tribal family.
The militants took the three to an isolated spot, where they killed them one by one.
According topolice, the victims’ heads were crushed with heavy stones, and their faces got disfigured.
The victims comprise two men and a woman.
The Maoists also left behind handwritten pamphlets before fleeing the scene. In the leaflets, the rebels said the three were killed for passing on information to police about the Maoists’ activities.
“We found their bodies lying near a dam outside the village. A red slip found on the spot claimed responsibility for the killing,” local district superintendent of police Jayakant said, adding the police had launched manhunt to nab the absconding accused persons.
Last month, the state government in Bihar headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar announced rewards worth Rs4.8 million (Dh274,242) for information leading to the capture of 45 dreaded Maoists accused of killing security forces, blowing up government buildings and disturbing peace in the region.
Most of the rebels who carry rewards on their heads come from 10 districts considered the most sensitive. Of them, 23 alone belong to Jamui district of Bihar.
Of the rebels, three carry a reward of Rs500,000 each on their heads, one a reward of Rs300,000 each, and three a reward of Rs200,000 each. Another 33 attract a reward of Rs50,000 each while the remaining four bear a reward of Rs25,000 each on their head, according to an official report.
The most dreaded rebels among the list are Arvind Kumar Singh alias Devji, a Maoist’s polit bureau member wanted in as many 13 cases of violence, and Vijay Yadav alias Sandeep accused of killing 10 security forces in landmine blast last year.
The announcement of the rewards comes amid reports of rebels planning for a major strike on jails and prison vans to free five of their comrades awarded death sentence by a local court last month for killing security forces during the last 2015 Lok Sabha polls. All the five condemned Maoists are currently lodged in the Bhagalpur central jail of eastern Bihar.
As per intelligence reports, the Maoists central committee has entrusted a particular squad to carry out the jailbreak plan, prompting the authorities to beef up security arrangements in and around the jail. Although two companies of Bihar Military Police are already deployed in jail security, authorities have requisitioned one more company for further intensifying jail security.