NEW DELHI, 31 August — The man who led a feared militia of feudal upper caste landlords in the eastern state of Bihar says he does not regret the massacre of at least 500 people over the years by his outlawed Ranvir Sena.
Brahmeshwar Singh Mukhiya, who at 50 is frail and hardly resembles the head of a ferocious killer outfit, says whatever the outfit has done until now is only to retaliate against Maoist guerrillas in the state.
"There is nothing to feel sorry about," he said here a day after he was arrested, after having been on the run for years.
"The war will continue till we (Sena) feel no fear in protecting ourselves against our enemy," Mukhiya told reporters here.
Mukhiya took over the leadership of the Ranvir Kisan Sangharsh Samiti from the then chief of Belaur block, Sheo Narain Choudhary, in 1994. The Samiti later became Ranvir Sena, a private army of land owning upper caste Bhumihars, and created terror all over the state.
Most victims of the Sena were poor and landless laborers believed to be sympathetic to the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and other Maoist groups. Many were innocent women and children.
Mukhiya was considered the brain behind the Sena. He came to limelight after a carnage of the poor in Bathani Tola village in Bhojpur district on July 10, 1996, in which the victims were mostly children and women. Calling the Sena a protector of rich farmers, he said the group had been fighting for their rights. But he quickly added that he had not taken part in any of the killings.
"I don’t have any remorse for the massacres carried out by Ranvir Sena. I hope farmers will be able to protect themselves on their own."
According to Senior Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar, who caught Mukhiya Thursday, the Sena chief is an accused in several cases involving the killing of at least 500 people.
