Uncle of BJP MLC shot dead by Maoists in Bihar
AURANGABAD: A 65-year-old man was killed and seven vehicles torched by a group of 40 Maoists as they attacked BJP Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Rajan Singh’s house at Sudi Bigaha village in south Bihar’s Aurangabad district late on Saturday night.
The deceased, Nagendra Singh, is the uncle of the MLC. When the attack took place Rajan Singh was not home. Nagendra was shot dead when he tried to prevent the Maoists from planting an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to blow up the house, according to the Dev police.
The extremists blew up a community development building and fired several rounds at the houses of Rajan and his cousin Sunil Singh.
Seven vehicles — three buses, three tractors, and a car — parked outside the MLC’s house were burnt. The house of village chowkidar Dhananjay and carpenter Krishna Mistri’s shop were brunt to the ground.
The Maoists had formed three groups to attack Sudi Bigaha and Dev Godam and to cordon the place, reports said. Both places are located at a distance of 300 metres.
To damage police and CRPF vehicles, the extremists planted IEDs on all routes leading to the villages. Police later defused several IEDs and recovered kodex wire planted on approach roads, Satya Prakash, superintendent of police, Aurangabad, said.
Police and CRPF’s 153 battalion, stationed at Dev, some two kilometres west of the village, reached Sudi Bigaha around 10pm and forced the Maoists to retreat, Prakash claimed. None was injured in the firing.
The attack was planned and executed by commanders Sandeep Yadav, Vivek Yadav and Sanjit Yadav with the help of 50 guerillas, the SP said. Sandeep Yadav’s properties were recently seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Security forces have launched an operation against the Maoists and top police officers from Patna and Magadh DIG Vinay Kumar reached Aurangabad to monitor the situation.
A similar Maoist attack was carried out on MLC Rajan’s house in March 2013 too. The assailants shot dead his cousin Ajit Kumar Singh.
Both the attacks were related to extortion demands. Rajan is a contractor, while his cousin Sunil owns and runs several buses in the Maoist-controlled area. The Maoist attack was also an act to make their presence felt after arrests of some of their senior leaders and the attachment of properties of top Maoist chieftains, including Sandeep Yadav, the SP said. Yadav is a resident of Banka Bazar in the neighbouring Gaya district.