Ranchi, Oct 20 (IANS) Three people were killed early Tuesday when Maoist guerrillas opened fire on a group watching a dance in a Jharkhand village.
Seven people, including two policemen, were also injured when the Maoists fired indiscriminately at the group in Chatra district’s Rajpur village, about 200 km from here. The incident took place at 2.30 a.m., police said.

“In the indiscriminate firing, three people died and seven were injured. The three injured have been referred to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) here,” said Chatra Superintendent of Police Deo Bihari Sharma.

Police sources said that those who were killed include Umesh Mali, head of the Maoist group Sashtra People’s Morcha (SPM) and local Lok Janshakti Party leader Umesh Singh Bhokta.

“One or two Maoist rebels came on stage and started firing. The killing seems to be the outcome of rivalry between Maoist groups,” said a police official.

Police suspect that the banned outlawed group Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) carried out the killing.