After Bathe Massacre Bela Bhatta SOON after the Lakshmanpur-Bathe killings, the Bihar government announced that police would be deployed in the area to control the violence. With the announcement of the elections to parliament police deployment was directed to controlling poll-related violence. Very soon after, complaints were heard that the police force which had been activated with the avowed claim of controlling Ranbeer Sena's assaults upon the dalits and the poor, and preventing election-related violence, was more active in harassing the poor and the dalits in the name of controlling 'extremism.' These complaints prompted seven civil' liberties and democratic rights organisations from all corners of India to send a joint team to Patna and Jehanabad districts to observe the situation there.' The team visited 16 villages in Patna and Jehanabad districts on February 10, 11 and 12. The villages include Lakshmanpur-Bathe and Choram (where nine bhumihars were allegedly killed by CPI(ML)-Liberation supporters on January 9, in retaliation to the Bathe massacre), The team spoke to scores of villagers. It also spoke to Manmohan Singh, the superintendent of police, Jehanabad, and drew his attention to people's complaints of police misbehaviour and widespread fear of Ranbeer Sena.
