At least 11 people were shot dead in fighting that erupted overnight between rival groups of a Hindu religious cult in the lawless Indian state of Bihar, the police said here Saturday, reported (AFP)
Officials said armed members of one group attacked the other in the town of Siwan in the eastern Indian state and mowed down 11 people late Friday night.
Bihar police chief K.A. Jacob said the toll was likely to rise as an unspecified number of others may have been injured in the bizzare overnight shootout.
Siwan residents attributed the attack to a long drawn-out feud between rival followers of an ancient Hindu poet cum cult leader, Sant Kabir, in the town.
They said more than 20 people have died in such fighting which has raged for the past 50 years for the control of a sprawling monastery named after the Hindu saint on the outskirts of Siwan.
On October 7, the state police raided the complex and reportedly recovered military assault rifles from the site.
The police ruled out initial suspicions that the killings were linked to outlawed Maoist guerrillas, who hold sway in Bihar's countryside.
Friday's massacre came a month after nine people, including six Muslim landowners, were hacked to death by Maoist insurgents in Bihar's southern city of Ranchi.
Bihar is prone to caste conflicts. Clashes between private militias operated by upper-caste landlords and Maoist guerrillas have left more than 500 people dead over the past two years.
With a population of 110 million, Bihar has India's lowest per capita income and its highest crime rate, with an average 5,000 murders, 3,000 abductions and 600 train robberies a year.
Police say the creation of a new state of Jharkhand carved out of the mineral-rich southern districts of Bihar could spark more bloodletting after the administrative handover of the new province next month.
The leftwing rebels, who look at Jharkhand as their bastion, have been waging an armed campaign in Bihar for more than two decades on behalf of poor farmers held in bondage by Bihari landowners – (AFP)
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