Naxalites gun down Jharkhand MP

RANCHI: Maoist rebels shot dead an MP from Jharkhand and five others on Sunday while the Holi celebrations were in full swing, police said.   

MP Sunil Mahto was killed on the spot in the attack, which took place in the remote village of Pakuria, 150 kms from the state capital Ranchi, police chief Pankaj Darad said. Earlier the officer had said the high-profile member of Parliament’s lower house, was critically injured in the ambush during a soccer tournament to mark the Holi spring festivities.   

It is the first time Maoist guerrillas have assassinated a national-level politician.

Darad said five people, including Mahto’s security personnel, were killed when an unspecified number of Maoists fired randomly at the guests attending the Holi soccer tournament. Mahto, 41, belonged to the regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Liberation Front) party, an ally of the UPA government.

Mahto was his party’s general secretary and was elected from the state’s prestigious constituency of Jamshedpur, where the Tata business empire is headquartered. Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister Stephan Marandi blamed the attack on a massive security lapse.

Police launched a hunt for the attackers, who ran away after the ambush.

“We will not give up until we find the killers,” Darad said, as hundreds of paramilitary troops and police cordoned off the village and surrounding forests.