A settlement of mahadalits and other extremely oppressed castes in Purushottampur village, Sattar Kataiya block, Saharsa district was attacked by BJP-supported dominant caste forces on 25 December in order to grab their land. Chano Ram was killed in the attack and his brother Vakil Ram is battling for life at the PMCH. This attack was carried out under police protection. Four others are also seriously injured. CPI (ML) and AIARLA leaders visited the site of the incident and met the critically injured Ajay Ram, Mukesh Ram, Mithun Ram, and Shivendra Ram. CPI (ML) PB member Com. Amar and AIARLA National General Secretary Com. Dhirendra Jha met the injured Vakil Ram at PMCH.
Earlier, on 14 September 2016 also these same feudal forces had attacked Mahadalits. The victims had then tried to register a case against the perpetrators but their efforts went unheeded. This boosted the morale of criminal landlords Brahmadev Mukhiya, Sanjeev Singh and Rajeev Singh who attacked the village on 25 December and murdered Chano Ram. This attack was done with the aim of forcibly grabbing Bihar government land – which is rightfully allotted to the poor and dalits. The CPI (ML) team has demanded immediate action on the Saharsa SC-ST thana in-charge and the Bitra thanedar. They have demanded the immediate arrest of the accused, proper treatment for the injured, compensation and employment for the family of the dead victim, and distribution of bhoodan, ceiling and other government land among the poor.
