Maoist bandh begins in Bihar

A two-day Maoist strike began in Bihar amid tight security, police said Tuesday.

Additional Director General of Police P.K. Thakur said that no violence was reported in the state after Maoist guerrillas began their strike at midnight Monday.

“All the district superintendents of police have been directed to intensify patrolling and deploy additional security forces at vital installations, including railway stations,” Mr. Thakur said.

“All police stations in Maoist affected districts would remain on high—alert,” he added.

The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist has called for a two-day shutdown in five states, including Bihar, to protest against a crackdown by security forces.

Maoists attack Bihar village, nine dead

Over 120 heavily-armed Maoists swooped down on Kasari village in Bihar’s Jamui district and fired indiscriminately, killing nine villagers and leaving 12 others injured, five of them critically.

The ultras stormed the village on Wednesday night and burnt over 25 thatched houses and fired a hail of bullets killing the villagers.

The strike was said to be in retaliation against the recent killings of eight activists of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) allegedly by the villagers, according to leaflets left by the ultras at the spot.

The injured have been admitted to hospitals at Sikandra and Jamui, where condition of five persons was stated to be critical.

Maoists had given a three-day bandh call in eastern part of Bihar to protest the killing of their activists. The bandh ended last midnight.