10 killed in Bihar caste carnage

Armed attackers from an upper-caste militia opened fire on villagers, killing 10 people from a lower caste as festering social tensions erupted again in India's violence-prone state of Bihar, police said Saturday.

Two of the dead were members of a lower-caste militia, and two other villagers suffered gunshot wounds in the attack on Friday night in the state's Nawada district, Inspector-General Neelmani said.

The attack took place in Chakwai village, 60 km (36 miles) south of the state capital Patna The victims were seated in the courtyard of a village elder, chatting after dinner, when the armed men raided the village.

Nine people died at the scene, and one of three injured people died on the way to the hospital.The attackers were suspected to be members of the Akhilesh Singh gang, an outfit promoting interests of the landowning Bhumihar castes and frequently involved in attacks on lower-caste villagers in the area, the officer said.

Low-caste militias such as the Ashok Mahto, which police said lost two members in the attack, in turn target upper-caste villagers and rival gangs.

The latest violence was believed to be have been carried out by Mahto gang members as revenge for the killing of two Akhilesh Singh members outside a district court last month. Police surrounded the area and sealed all roads in an attempt to catch the attackers.

Yesterday, dozens of villagers swarmed the Parsa railway station close to the massacre site, blocking trains in the area and demanding compensation of Rs100,000 and government jobs for the families of the dead. They rejected the local government's announcement of compensation of Rs10,000.

Caste tensions run deep in Bihar, one of India's poorest states. The state is the hub of caste clashes, which also occur in other parts of the country. Thousands have been killed over the past decades in cyclical waves of caste violence.

More than 70 people have been killed in caste-related violence in the state in the past two years, according to police.

The lower castes, 80 per cent of India's 1 billion people according to government estimates, are still at the bottom in most social indicators, including education, income, employment and asset ownership.