Asia
Is Bihar's dreaded Ranvir Sena targeting Nepal?
Kathmandu | October 08, 2007 2:05:07 PM IST
After repeated attacks by criminal gangs from India across the border, a frontier district in Nepal now fears incursion by one of the most dreaded private armies in India, the Ranvir Sena. Rajbiraj town in Nepal's Saptari, one of the most volatile districts in the kingdom since protest movements erupted in the Terai plains last year, fears forays by the Ranvir Sena, the powerful anti-Maoist army of rich landlords in Bihar. On Sunday night, two powerful explosions rocked the town. Media reports said pamphlets claiming them to be the handiwork of the Ranvir Sena were found scattered at the Tribhuban park, where one of the blasts occurred. The Ranvir Sena, the private army of upper castes founded in late 1994, was banned by the Bihar government the following year. Despite the ban, it still flourishes in the Indian state and is held responsible for several massacres of Dalits and Maoists. The pamphlets were found less than a month after sectarian violence erupted in a Terai district in Nepal, killing at least 33 and making thousands flee their homes. The murder of Mohammad Abdul Moit Khan, a powerful local don in Kapilavastu district in September triggered widespread violence and arson as the supporters of Khan, a rich landlord, began attacking shanty dwellers and members of lower castes. Khan had led a vigilante group armed by the state to attack Maoists. The Kapilavastu massacre and two other carnages in the Terai this year are alleged to have been aggravated by armed gangs crossing across the border from India. Both the Gaur and Lahan massacres targeted Maoists. The home secretaries of India and Nepal met in Kathmandu last month to discuss improving border security, especially in view of the Kapilavastu massacre. (IANS)
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