By IANS,
Patna : Maoist guerrillas killed two people, including a village head, at a ‘jan adalat’ (kangaroo court) in a Bihar village after finding them “guilty” of helping the police, the police said Friday.
A group of armed Maoist guerrillas killed Babuli village head Ashok Das and his close associate Mohammad Mustafa late Thursday night in Jamui district, about 200 km from here.
“Their throat was slit by Maoists to send a message of harsh punishment to others,” said a police official.
Jamui district administration officials said that both the victims were first found guilty in the people’s court, also known as Kangaroo court, for helping the police.
According to police officials, some leaders of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) were angry with Das and other villagers after the district police and Special Task Force personnel arrested nearly 100 Maoists in Jamui district last month. The arrests took place when they were holding a meeting at a makeshift camp in Khaira forests of Jamui, bordering Jharkhand.
Maoist guerrillas blamed Das for the police action against them.
In rural Bihar, there is a fear of punishment from Maoists guerrillas. The rebels hold their people’s courts in villages and forest areas to punish rich landowners, police informers, corrupt government officials, contractors and party betrayers.
Maoist guerrillas, claiming to fight for the landless and poor, have a strong presence in over a dozen districts in the state.