An area official blamed the outlawed Maoist Communist Center, which had abducted and threatened 13 villagers in June before releasing them, apparently as the villagers had tried to form a self-defense group to fight the militants.

MCC, one of several prominent communist militant groups, is fighting government forces alongside other rebel groups in the rural areas of several states. The rebels oppose what they call the oppression of the poor by the government and landowners. Jharkhand is rich in minerals and forest resources, but its people are among the nation's poorest.

The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 17, 2005
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