INDIA: MAOISTS GET DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING COPS

a local court in Bihar, India, gave capital punishment to five CPI (Maoist) Naxalites for killing three policemen at Gaura village in Banka district two years ago. Fast track court judge Gangotri Ram Tripathi pronounced the judgment on the five Maoists - Umesh Yadav, Naresh Yadav, Dhaneshwar Yadav and Suresh Yadav, all from Gaura village in Banka district and Ashok Yadav of Sahiya village in Jamui district - for killing then officer in-charge of Anandpur police station, Bhagwan Singh. The two other victims were constables Braj Bhushan Prasad and Nityanand Kumar. All of them were deployed at Gaura village during Kali Puja celebrations on November 3, 2005, when Maoists carried out the attack. The Naxalites also looted four rifles, a revolver and 80 rounds of ammunition from the policemen.