By IANS
Ranchi : Former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi’s brother Nunalal Marandi, who had organised the cultural programme during which Maosists killed 18 people in the state’s Giridih district early Saturday, blamed the local administration for security lapses leading to the massacre.
“I had informed the police and district administration about the programme but no proper security arrangements were made to provide security to me and the villagers,” Nunalal told IANS over the phone from Giridih.
Giving an account of the incident, he said: “Around 10 to 20 Maoist rebels first came to watch the cultural programme wearing uniforms of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). One Maoist rebel who was pretending to be the head constable saluted me. The Maoist rebels went back after watching the programme for nearly one hour.
“Around 12.45 a.m. they returned and opened fire on the gathering. One bullet was fired at me. I crouched to save myself and the bullet hit the eye of a villager. I mingled with the villagers to save myself and did not go to my vehicle as the Maoists had surrounded it. I removed my coat to hide my identity and ran into the jungle.
“I crossed over to Bihar to save myself. From Bihar I called the police to inform them about the incident and asked them to escort me to Giridih,” Marandi added.