"None of the members of the 70 odd households in this village took a morsel of food on Sunday. It will take a long time for life to return to normal," Mahesh Prasad, a villager said.
Five children and a woman were among those killed. Most of the victims belonged to the Chaurasia caste. Two of the injured are still battling for life in a local hospital.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist gave a call for a daylong shutdown in Sheikhpura, Nawada and Nalanda yesterday to protest against the killings.
Other opposition parties - the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Lok Janshakti Party and the Communist Party of India - have described the killings as a breakdown of law and order despite claims of good governance by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Kumar, who rushed to the scene of the crime on Sunday after angry villagers refused to hand over the bodies to police for autopsy demanding his presence, admitted it was a police failure.
He has transferred the deputy inspector general of police, Munger, the district magistrate and the superintendent of Sheikhpura district. The government has also suspended the officer in-charge of the Kasar police station under which the village falls and launched departmental proceedings against other police officials.
Kumar has announced a compensation of Rs100,000 to the families of those killed and also promised them jobs and houses. - Indo-Asian News Service
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