Maoist rebels storm jail in east India, free 350 prisoners

From Contre Information:

14 Nov 2005

Hundreds of heavily armed Maoist rebels stormed a jail in eastern India, killing at least two people and freeing about 350 prisoners, including many fellow guerrillas, police said on Monday.
The rebels entered Jehanabad town in impoverished and crime-ridden Bihar state on Sunday night in small groups, cut off power and raided the prison in one of the biggest ever attacks by Maoist guerrillas, a police officer said.
The rebels, who were estimated to number 700, killed a prison guard and a member of a private army of upper caste landlords in a gunbattle with policemen.
The guerrillas also abducted at least two dozen members of the Ranvir Sena, the private army of upper caste landlords, who were jail inmates.
"It is the biggest ever attack in Bihar and it is for the first time the heart of a town was taken over by Maoists," a federal police officer, who did not want to be named, said.
The rebels, who operate in eastern and southern India, say they are fighting for the rights of landless labourers and impoverished peasants. In Bihar, they often clash with private armies of landlords. Dozens have been killed in the past decade.
The attack took place on a day when police had been deployed in other parts of Bihar for elections to the state legislature in a month-long process which ends this weekend.
"The main logic for the attack was that our forces were all deployed for the elections," federal junior Home Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal said.

CHAOTIC SCENES AT JAIL

Residents of Jehanabad, a town of around 80,000 people, recalled a night of terror.
"I heard gunshots and explosions in the night. Then the lights went off. I have never seen anything like this," school teacher Ranjay Kumar said.
Police and witnesses said the Maoists made announcements during their night-time attack in Jehanabad, about 50 km (31 miles) south of Patna, the state capital, saying civilians should remain indoors and would not be harmed.
On Monday, the prison gates were open and people were moving in and out of the jail at will. Hundreds of curious bystanders surrounded the jail, some of them climbing trees to watch.
Supporters of the Ranvir Sena, the private army set up to defend the interests of upper caste landlords, gathered outside the jail, protesting the kidnapping of members of the group.
The Maoists have stepped up attacks in recent months. Last week, about 300 Maoists stormed a training centre for auxiliary policemen, killing five cadets, in neighbouring Jharkhand state.
India's home ministry has estimated there around about 9,300 armed Maoist rebels in the country and say they have links with Maoist insurgents in neighbouring Nepal who are fighting to overthrow the Himalayan nation's monarchy.