Bhagalpur, Dec. 18: Maoist guerrillas demolished the building of an upgraded middle school at Chananwar village under Khaira block in Jamui district late last night.

Some residents of the village told The Telegraph that they had seen a JCB machine in the area around 10pm yesterday, but they did not try to find out who had brought it to the area.

The villagers were shocked to find that the school, which had 14 rooms, had been demolished. A JCB machine was found near the site of the occurrence.

Jamui superintendent of police (SP) Ram Narayan Singh said the police received the information about the incident this morning. “Chananwar is located about 35km from Jamui district headquarters and more than 20km from Khaira police station. The rebels did not have any difficulty in carrying out the subversive activity because of the remoteness of the village,” he added.

This was not the first time that the Maoists have targeted school buildings in the district.

On the night of December 16, the rebels had blown up the building of another upgraded government middle school at Sarkanda village under Sono block.

Asked why the police were not being able to make necessary arrangements to counter frequent attacks by the Maoists, the SP said: “The location of these places is a major hindrance. We conduct massive search operations in the areas considered Maoist stronghold. But it is not possible to keep a 24-hour vigil at schools in areas such as Chananwar.”