Over the last couple of years the tiny village of Lakhnaura and its surrounding areas have turned into killing fields. This year alone Masaurhi district in Bihar has seen everything from murder to massacre. On Thursday, a woman and five children became the latest victims of what police term ‘revenge killings’.Deepa and Dinanath Yadav’s three children — all boys aged between two and seven — were shot dead at night as they slept on the floor of their mud hut. Their bodies were found ridden with bullets. In another part of the village, Dinanath’s brother Sadhu Yadav’s two girls died when they were shot in the face at close range. The assailants had chosen their victims carefully, the police said.Director General of Police R.R. Prasad said he suspected that dreaded gangster Sunil Yadav was involved. He said the heavily-armed men had crept into the village, killed the woman and five children at 10 pm and escaped. ‘‘This has been going on for a long time. Sunil Yadav’s wife and daughter were also killed like this, so he paid them back,’’ he said.In her FIR, Deepa Yadav has named Sunil Yadav as the killer. According to the police, the saga of the Yadavs started in 1996 when Sunil Yadav killed Mohan Yadav after he heard he was having an affair with his mother-in-law. Mohan Yadav’s men immediately retaliated and killed Sunil Yadav’s wife, daughter and mother-in-law in 1997.The men behind the killings were allegedly shielded and hidden by Dinanath and Sadhu Yadav, two also accused in the case. Recently, Sunil Yadav, alias Sunil Kranti, who took over a Yadav-dominated breakaway faction of the PWG recently, next targeted Mohan Yadav’s son and made an abortive bid to kill him. After that attempt, he targetted brothers Sadhu and Dinanath Yadav.The area is also becoming notorious for Dalit massacres. Last year, two major Dalit massacres took place and three years ago Jaynanandan Yadav — Sunil Yadav’s predecessor — a rebel PWG commander had walked out of the group and carried out selective killing of Dalit PWG sympathisers. He was killed in an encounter and the gang taken over by Sunil Yadav, whose men are also allegedly involved in the killings of six Dalits on March 8. Villagers from nearby villages also congregated at the spot and demanded that Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi come and listen to what they had to say.‘‘I will say whatever I have to say to her. We will not allow anyone to take away the bodies,’’ Sadhu Yadav said.
