India to contact Nepal about Bihar attack

A senior Indian official has said the state government of Bihar would soon contact Nepal officially with regard to Friday’s attack at an Indian town by Maoist insurgents.

The Telegraph, a leading Indian daily, quoted Bihar director-general of police, Ashish Ranjan Sinha, as saying that “persons with Mongoloid features” were among the attackers and that the state police would soon contact Nepal officially.

“We have no clear evidence yet to show that it was a joint operation, but it cannot be ruled out. We are probing it,” Sinha said.

“A year ago, Maoists of the two countries had formed a Bihar-Nepal Border Co-ordination Committee. It may have had a role in this attack,” a local police source suggested.

“The well-coordinated and precise military-style attack on Madhuban is proof that the united Maoists have made huge advances in their capacity to strike with a greater design,” the daily quoted a senior intelligence official in Patna after returning from the spot.

“Three of the bodies recovered so far seem to be of Nepalis. Witnesses, too, have suggested the presence of Nepali-looking men and women in the guerrilla squads,” Sinha said.

Some in the force, however, believe these guerrillas could have been tribals from the Northeast or Paharias from Uttaranchal.

A local police source claimed Indian and Nepali Maoists have been working closely, sheltering each other and sharing expertise. Arms from across the border could be coming to north Bihar, according to the news report.

Nearly 500 heavily armed guerrillas simultaneously attacked nine places in the village on Thursday afternoon: the police station, block office, post office, two banks and a petrol pump, besides the homes of Rashtriya Janata Dal MP from Sheohar, Sitaram Singh, and two of his supporters.

“The raid, named Operation Dhamaka, lasted 20-25 minutes. They hit the target with precision and without much resistance. But apparently, when their chief Moinuddin Mian got shot during the attack on the police station, the message was circulated through their walkie-talkies and all the squads retreated simultaneously,” a source said.

The Indian police have so far recovered only seven bodies but claim to have found bloodstains in more than 20 places and say they believe more guerrillas were killed.

Earlier, officials in Delhi had cited several reasons why they believed Nepal Maoists were not involved. First, all the posters found were in Hindi. Second, the literature seized was either in Maithili or Bhojpuri, which indicates the raid was carried out by the CPI (Maoist). Third, most of the attackers headed west after the raid and not north for Nepal.

Meanwhile, Indian Express newspaper reported that a policeman and a villager were killed during two separate shootouts between Bihar police and Maoist rebels near Nepal-India border on Sunday.

The daily quoted a police officer engaged in the operation as saying that Maoists involved in the Madhuban market attack, in adjoining East Champaran, were retreating in different groups and trying to sneak into Nepal.

Spokesman of the CPN (Maoist), Krishna Bahadur Mahara, has already denied his party’s involvement in the Madhubani attack. Our party doesn’t have a policy to launch joint raids (in a neighboring country), he added. nepalnews.com by June 27 05

Related News
- Maoists deny their hand in Madhubani attack