Fiery feud chars six in lawless Bihar

NOT MUCH has changed in Bihar even after the change of guard. Law and order remains dismal as ever. A woman and her five children were burnt alive at Bhagtand Tola in Raghopur in Vaishali district by a gang of 10 on Saturday night for refusing to withdraw a theft case.

NOT MUCH has changed in Bihar even after the change of guard. Law and order remains dismal as ever.

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A woman and her five children were burnt alive at Bhagtand Tola in Raghopur in Vaishali district by a gang of 10 on Saturday night for refusing to withdraw a theft case. One person was admitted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) with severe burns. Two persons have been arrested and the chief minister has ordered a high-level probe.

Officer-in-charge of Raghopur police station Nasriuddin Khan has been suspended and departmental proceedings initiated against him. The OC is absconding. The victims have been identified as Baby Devi (45), Neelam (10), Poonam (8), Suraj (6), Anil (4) and Rajesh (1). Baby's husband Vijendra Mahto has been admitted to PMCH with 60 per cent burns. Mahto's 20-year-old son Pankaj survived the attack as he was in Delhi.

Eyewitness Bindeshwar Mahto, whose brother was injured, said the assailants locked the doors of the house from outside and set the house on fire. They fired in the air and hurled bombs to scare away the people. The attack was the fallout of a feud over a theft case lodged by the Mahtos against Baichan Rai and his son Bipat Rai in September 2004. The Rais had been accused of stealing Mahtos' buffaloes, which were later recovered from Bidupur. Both the father and the son were arrested and sent to jail.

Things reached a flashpoint when Rais' men started threatening the Mahtos to withdraw the case and give a favourable statement in court.