Bihar, Feb 22 : Suspected CPI (Maoist) activists on Friday shot dead three persons at a village in Bihar’s East Champaran District.

Around midnight, a group of armed activists of a banned outfit raided Pipra village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Darpa Police Station and killed three farmers.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) A K Singh said a combing operation has been launched for the assailants.

The Year 2007 witnessed a rise in overall fatalities in Left Wing Eextemism (LWE)-related incidents in Bihar.

According to provisional data, 49 fatalities were recorded in 2007, as compared to 51 fatalities in 2006. Whereas fatalities among the Maoist ranks remained at comparable low levels, there was a sharp dip in civilian fatalities (down from 40 to 23), with a corresponding and alarming rise in security forces (SF) ranks, registering more than a four-fold increase – at 21, up from five in 2006. The dominance of the Maoists in the State was demonstrated in the proliferation of ‘swarming attacks’ – coordinated assaults by large numbers of Maoist cadres and ‘people’s militia’, principally on Police and SF posts, camps and establishments. Of the 42 swarming attacks conducted by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) through out the country in 2007, 12 took place in Bihar alone. Significantly, there were just nine swarming attacks by the Maoists across the country, in 2006, of which only one was located in Bihar.

Interestingly, at the beginning 2007, Bihar was being projected as a ‘success story’. The State witnessed a decline in LWE-related activities from an alarming 323 incidents in 2004 to 186 in 2005 and to a further 107 in 2006.

The Maoist dominance is well documented and officially confirmed. According to a March 2007 Bihar Police document, 30 of the State’s 38 Districts are currently affected by Maoist activities. Nine of these have been designated 'hyper-sensitive'. A further nine Districts fall into the 'sensitive' category, while the remaining 12 Districts are categorised 'less sensitive'.

According to the Institute for Conflict Management’s database, Maoist activities – though not necessarily Maoist violence – in 2006 and 2007 (till December 20), was reported from 32 Districts. While Maoist influence has been most visible over the southern and central Districts, the northern Districts, sharing border with Nepal, have also been witnessing increasing mobilisation as well as the actual orchestration of attacks, indicating a comprehensive expansion of the Maoist strength across the State’s geographical spread.

Bihar remains a critical centre for the Maoist strategic outreach. In spite of significant arrests, the at least 2,500 strong cadre of the CPI-Maoist has found it easy to retain its strongholds in the State. (ANI)