Maoists Fire on Crowd, Kill 17 in Eastern India

Maoist rebels fired on a crowd of spectators watching a football match and cultural show in a remote village in eastern India, killing 17 people including a former chief minister's son, police and witnesses said on Saturday.

Around 40 rebels, including some women, disguised themselves as soldiers and police and surrounded a football field in Jharkhand state a few hours before dawn and fired at spectators, said Arun Kumar Singh, a senior police officer.

Anup Marandi, son of a former chief minister of the state, Babulal Marandi, was among those killed in the remote village, Singh said.

"A cultural programme after the match extended beyond midnight, giving the Maoists time to carry out the attack," Singh said from Giridih, 160 km (100 miles) northeast of the state capital, Ranchi.

Police have combing nearby jungles in search of the rebels, even as supporters of Marandi took to the streets in Ranchi and blocked traffic in protest, witnesses said.

Maoist rebels operate in a large swathe of India stretching from the east to some southern states, mostly in the countryside, and attack government officials and property.

They say they are fighting for the rights of millions of poor peasants and landless labourers. Thousands of people have been killed in the insurgency which began in the late 1960s.