12 members of Yadav family shot in Siwan

12 members of Yadav family shot in Siwan
ARUN SRIVASTAVA

PATNA, OCTOBER 14: Gun-toting mercenaries raided a village, Majidaha, in Siwan district of Bihar and shot dead 12 members of a family early this morning. This has led to communal tension in the area.

The village, which is a nine-family Yadav ghetto of small peasants, was sleeping when around 2 a.m about 50 men encircled the house of Laxman Choudhary -- the family was sleeping in the open -- and shot the members.

Locals allege this is a fallout of the war between the local MP, Mohammad Shahabuddin, and Satish Pandey. Shahabuddin's authority in Siwan has been challenged by underworld don Pandey, who is supported by a Samata leader.

Pandey had allegedly got two Muslims killed to avenge the killing of three Yadavs on Oct 12 by the goons of the rival gang. The Yadavs are the pawns in this game. Laloo has built the Muslim-Yadav coalition over the years, but after these killings his RJD is bound to lose support in Siwan. Pandey has assiduously cultivated links with the Yadavs and has now come to represent the aspirations of the Yadavs and the Hindus.

Laloo and his wife, Chief Minister Rabri Devi, have airdashed to the site of the killings. The villagers were not willing to let the district administration remove the bodies, insisting that Union Home Minister L K Advani visit the village and stop the bloodbath in the region.

State DGP K A Jacob blamed the ``land politics'' of a math for the massacre. Talking to The Indian Express, Jacob said ``For some time there has been a dispute over a 400-acre plot of a math. The previous mahant was evicted by the present mahant. In the process, force was used. Jacob said the massacre was the outcome of the rivalry between the two mahants.However, he added ``if the administration gets any information that Shahabuddin or Pandey are involved in the incident, they will be booked.''

However, CPI(ML) state secretary Ram Jatan Sharma, who was the first to reach the village, told The Indian Express over the phone from Siwan that the villagers of Majidaha were not connected to any land dispute. They were killed because they were a soft target.

Drawing a parallel between the action of Ranabir Sena in Jehanabad and the massacre in Siwan, Sharma said ``the killings are clearly a well-organised move to divide the people on communal lines.''

Laloo seems to agree with this and is reported to have said so on reaching the spot.

The area is a stronghold of the CPI(ML) which has its support base among the extremely backwards and the Yadavs. The party has demanded that the DM and SP of Siwan be suspended, accusing them of extending support to Shahabuddin in the gang war.

Meanwhile, the situation has taken a communal colour. To avoid any untoward incident, the administration today deployed the RAF and was planning to move more paramilitary forces. Jacob said ``the administration was alive to the situation and would act in a more strict manner''.

Interestingly, the state BJP has paid homage to those killed.