Maoists kill three Communist party leaders

Suspected Maoists shot dead three leaders of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxists) in Jhargram region of India's eastern state of West Bengal's West Midnapore district. The three CPI (M) leaders were identified as Bijay Mahto, Manik Mahto and Brihaspati Mahto. They were called from their homes in a village under the jurisdiction of Jhargram police station at about 1.30 am, and gunned down. According to eyewitnesses, the bodies of the three victims were found on Thursday morning in front of a college, with a note that the three had been given the 'extreme punishment by people's verdict' as they were 'police informers'.The posters also demanded that all 'anti-people' persons in the area should be annihilated and the area should be made free of 'anti-people' persons. Maoist violence is estimated to have caused over 700 deaths annually and has displaced 100,000 families. The Maoist presence has spread to 182 of India's 602 districts, and their movement has been reckoned as the country's single biggest internal security threat.