Tragedy struck the dusty hamlet of 2,000 people at 11.30 pm when militants, posing as contractors, called out the labourers hailing from outside the State on the pretext of discussing business. After lining them up, they sprayed bullets on them. Except for the one injured, Sham Kumar, who is battling for his life in the hospital, a dozen including two brothers, Bako Lal and Firangi Lal, perished in the carnage.

Ironically, the incident took place at a spot mere 100 metres from the residence of local MLC, Abdul Rashid.

When The Indian Express team visited the site, the entire village was under a state of shock. The terror-stricken relatives of the victims and other labourers, including women and children, mourned the dead near the smouldering pyres. The villagers and the police performed the cremation.

Theslain, apart from the two brothers, include Chander Pal and Ram Sahi (both from Uttar Pradesh), Krishan Kumar, Mithu Lal, Vijay Kumar, Amrit Lal, Padam Lal, Jitendra Kumar, Girja Anand and Vijay Kumar (all residents of Bilaspur in Madhya Pradesh).

Ram Lal (50), father of Bako and Firangi, said that at 11.15 pm, two unidentified youth entered his jhuggi, saying they were contractors and wanted to hire them. ``We were sleeping when the two woke us up. One of them asked for tea and my grandson Krishan Lal prepared it. After finishing their tea, they took him out. I thought they were discussing business and so tried to sleep. Suddenly I heard a burst of fire and ran out to find a number of our men, including my younger son Bako, lying in a pool of blood. They died within seconds,'' he said.