Purnia: Three tribals were killed and four others injured on Sunday after they were fired by a rival group over a land dispute in Bhatsara village in the district, a police official said.
Tribals and supporters of one, Sitaram Yadav, broke out into a clash over the ownership of a six bigha land in the village, during which Yadav`s men fired upon the tribals killing three of them, District Magistrate Shravan Kumar said.
While two of the victims -- Karan Tudu (30) and Rakesh Tudu (25) -- were involved in the clash, the third Manju Marandi (45) was hit by the bullet while he was passing the area on his way back to home.
The tribals had been engaged in a festering dispute with Yadav over the ownership of the land, Kumar said.
Superintendent of Police Amit Lodha had immediately rushed to the spot and raids are being carried out to nab the culprits, the DM said.
The state government will pay a compensation of Rs five lakh to each of the victims, he said, adding that the bodies had been sent for postmortem.
PTI
