strong>By IANS
Patna : The New Year started on a bloody note in Bihar’s Munger district where Maoist rebels killed four policemen Tuesday afternoon.
The Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) personnel were killed near Rishi Kund, a tourist spot in the district, about 200 km from the state capital here.
“The Maoists fired randomly at the policemen, killing four constables,” said Munger Superintendent of Police Shalin over telephone.
An SAP team had gone to the area after a tip-off that Maoist rebels were planning to create trouble at Rishi Kund when hundreds of people would be partying on the New Year.
However, the Maoists surrounded the SAP personnel and fired on them, taking them completely by surprise, police said.
Top district officials are camping in the area and a search for the Maoists has been launched, Shalin said.
In 2007, Maoists killed 22 policemen in Bihar – eight in Rohtas district, four in Lakhisarai, three in East Champaran, two in Bhagalpur and one each in five other districts.
The policemen killed 12 Maoists – seven in Gaya, three in West Champaran and two in Rohtas.
Around 40 people were killed in about 171 incidents of Maoist-related violence in 29 out of 38 districts of the state during the year. The rebels also looted weapons during their attacks on police stations and outposts.
The police arrested 553 Maoist rebels, including front ranking leaders Tusharkant Bhattacharya, Ajay Kanu, Yogesh Yadav and Babulal Shahni.
Bihar, one of the worst Maoist affected states along with Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, has the lowest police-people ratio. Over 19,000 posts in the state police department have not been filled up.