PATNA, April 8: Maoist rebels killed at least eight villagers in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand on Tuesday, police said.
The dead were members of a government-backed tribal group formed to fight the rebels.
“The villagers were crossing the road through a forest when the Maoists sprayed bullets on them,” said Deepak Kumar Sinha, a police officer.
The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless. They regularly kill policemen and attack government establishments in a large swathe of eastern and central India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the four-decade-old Maoist rebellion as the single biggest threat to India’s internal security. It has killed thousands of people.—Reuters
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