DATE=6/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDIA / MASSACRE (L)
NUMBER=2-263570
BYLINE=ANJANA PASRICHA
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In India's eastern state of Bihar, 34 people
have been massacred in caste-related violence. Anjana
Pasricha reports from New Delhi, this is the second
incident of caste-related violence reported from the
region in a week.
TEXT: Police say armed gunmen dressed in black
stormed the village of Miapur in Bihar early Saturday.
They gunned down members of the low-caste Yadav
community of cattle-herders after lining them up
outside their homes. Many of the victims were old
men, women and children, who could not hide or flee.
More than a dozen people were seriously wounded in the
attack on the remote village, which is only accessible
by foot.
Police officials are blaming the attack on a private
militia of upper-caste landlords called the Ranvir
Sena. The Ranvir Sena is used by feudal landlords in
Bihar to terrorize peasants and lower-caste
communities.
According to the police, the latest killings appear to
be in retaliation for the murder of 12 landlords six
days ago. Landless farmers are believed to have been
behind that attack.
Authorities have sent about 400 police reinforcements
to Miapur village, where tensions are running high.
Angry villagers are complaining of lack of security.
The police are also conducting raids in neighboring
villages to trace the attackers.
Caste violence claims scores of lives in Bihar every
year. Revenge attacks are frequently reported between
private militias used by rich landlords and Maoist
guerrillas who say they represent the lower castes.
The latest violence will increase political pressure
on Bihar's chief minister, Rabri Devi, who is already
facing opposition demands to step down for failing to
tackle the escalating caste violence in the state.
Since the beginning of June, more than 50 people have
been killed in caste-related incidents.
Bihar is India's poorest and most lawless state, with
thousands of cases of murder and incidents of rioting
reported every year. (Signed)
NEB/AP/WTW
17-Jun-2000 07:52 AM EDT (17-Jun-2000 1152 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
