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Nine killed in Maoist violence in eastern India

Other News Materials 25 December 2010 13:01 (UTC +04:00)

At least nine people including three Maoist rebels and two troopers were killed in separate incidents across eastern India, news reports said Saturday.

The killings reportedly took place in the states of West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand on Friday, DPA reported.

Four political activists, including two from the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist and two from regional parties were found dead in Bengal's West Midnapore district.

They had been abducted earlier by the Maoists, and their bodies were found in forested areas in region on Friday, police said.

In the neighbouring state of Orissa, three Maoists were killed by security forces earlier on Friday, when police raided a hideout in the Narayanpatna area.

In third incident in Jharkhand, two troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force died when the rebels detonated landmines in the Godda district, the Hindu newspaper reported.

The Maoists, who reject parliamentary democracy, claim they are leading an armed rebellion to secure the rights of the poor and marginalized.

They operate in some of India's poorest districts, especially forested land populated by tribal people that has seen little development.

More than 1,150 rebels, troops and civilians have been killed in violence linked to the insurgency since January 2010, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

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