By IANS
Ranchi : Tribals and Dalits constitute 70 percent of the people killed in Jharkhand by rebels of the outlawed Communist Party Of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), says a new report by the police.
“We have compiled the data of people killed by Maoists in the state. The report prepared by us indicates that the rebels mostly kill poor tribal and Dalit people,” Gauri Shankar Rath, additional director general of the Jharkhand Police, told IANS.
The report says Maoist guerrillas have carried out three major massacres in Jharkhand in the last six years. They had massacred 14 people in Beltu village of Hazaribagh district in April 2002. All of those killed in the incident were either Dalits or tribals.
The same communities were targeted in a second massacre in which 15 people were killed in Beluwaghati village of Giridih district in 2005.
The third mass killing took place last month in Chilkhari village of the same district in which 18 people, including former chief minister Babulal Marandi’s son Anup, were killed.
“Maoists also kill innocent people, falsely accusing them of spying for the police,” Rath said Tuesday.
Nearly 70 people have been killed in the last seven years after being branded spies. More than 80 percent of them were Dalits or tribals, says the report.
“Maoists claim they are fighting for people’s rights but what will they gain by killing innocent Dalits and tribals? We will soon launch a campaign against the rebels and show their real face to the people. We will also come out with posters and pamphlets and expose them,” Rath said.