LAKSHMANPUR-BATH, JEHANABAD, Dec 2: Sixty-one residents of this village, most of them landless Dalits, were massacred by the Ranvir Sena, a private army of upper-caste landowners, late last night. Police said that 100 armed Sena activists crossed the Sone canal and slipped into the village at around 10 pm. Then they barged into 14 houses and killed the occupants, including women and children, one by one.

The toll in the end was: 16 children, 27 women and 18 men. While most were shot, several were hacked to death. This is the worst carnage involving Naxalites in the recent history of land-related violence in the state. In 1987, activists of the Maoist Coordination Centre had killed 52 upper-caste villagers in Aurangabad's Dalelchak-Baghora village.

Yesterday's massacre ended at 1 am and the attackers escaped under the cover of darkness in two boats. They later shot the boatmen, police said.

Most of the victims -- of all age groups -- belonged to families of CP(M-L) (Liberation) sympathisers.

This Naxalite group has for long been leading the agitation against upper-caste landlords demanding better wages and more equitable land distribution. Police say that among those killed were also some members of the CPI(M-L) (Party Unity), a rival Naxalite faction which has been fighting a bitter turf battle with Liberation.

Police said the assailants were from nearby Sahar block of Bhojpur district.One has to walk 3 km to reach this village, there's no electricity, no pucca road. Today, it was shock and anger, more than grief, that was evident with several villagers saying that a retaliatory attack couldn't be ruled out. Akhilendra Prasad Singh, SHO of the local Mehadiya police station, said he got to know of the incident at 7 am. DGP S K Saxena asked local policemen to explain why they hadn't reacted when they heard the gunshots.

However, Saxena later told reporters that the police station wasn't well-equipped and there weren't enough personnel. ``That's why we couldn't prevent this,'' he said.

Angry villagers did not allow the police to take the bodies away despite repeated requests from DGP Saxena and CPI (ML) MLA Rameshwar Prasad. They insisted that Chief Minister Rabri Devi visit the village. Recently, the CPI-ML had blasted the neighbouring Arwal police station. The scene of last night's massacre, barely a kilometre away, has for long witnessed a conflict between the Dalits and the Rajput, Bhumihar communities over land and daily wages.

The CPI(M-L) is caught in a two-pronged conflict in the region where it is up against both the Ranvir Sena and the MCC. The conflict between the two Leftist groups led to the killing of eight Liberation supporters at Kharasin village on September 2 and two on October 4 at Sao village.

This time, however, the immediate reason for the massacre seems to be a tussle between the landowners and landless farmers over a piece of government land. The landowners had forcibly captured the land and were cultivating it and the labourers were against it. State RJD chief Uday Narayan Choudhary claimed that while the government was of the poor, the administration was still dominated by upper-castes. ``These officers don't have a pro-poor attitude,'' he said.

State Chief Secretary B P Verma, has sought 35 companies of para-military forces . The Centre has sent one CRPF battalion to the village. New CRPF chief M K Sabbharwal is to visit the massacre site tomorrow.

Chief Minister Rabri Devi has announced the formation of a special investigating team to probe the incident and a special court for speedy trial. The Chief Minister said the killings were designed to defame her government. ``The Ranvir Sena enjoys patronage of a particular political party,'' she said. Seventeen Opposition parties, including the Janata Dal, CPI, CPI-M, CPI-ML and Samajwadi Party, have called for a state-wide bandh on December 5 to demand the resignation of the Chief Minister.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.