Gaya, March 17: Armed rebels ransacked the house of one Janardhan Rai late last night, leaving the family members in a state of shock.

Rai, a resident of Bodhi Bigha village under Dumaria police station, is a distant relative of Assembly Speaker Udai Narayan Choudhary.

The rebels planted can bombs and triggered an explosion in which a portion of the house was badly damaged, said sources.

Before blowing up the explosives, the Maoists looted valuables including cash, ornament, motorcycle, solar energy plate, a vehicle and foodgrains.

The rebels forced Rai’s family members out of the house before setting off the bomb. Before leaving the place, the Naxalites also thrashed Rai and other family members.

According to sources, both hands and legs of Rai are fractured following the thrashing.

He has been rushed to Patna for treatment, the sources added.

The Naxalites said they carried out the attack on Rai because he was a police informer. Besides, they also charged Rai of being a close aide of Bihar Assembly Speaker Udai Narayan Choudhary, the police said.

The Maoists arrived at the Bodhi Bigha village fully prepared. They continued the operation for nearly two hours. Numbering around 200, they virtually laid a siege to the village. They also planted can bombs at three places on the road to prevent police entry. However, none of the can bombs exploded.

During last year’s Assembly elections, a section of Maoists had given a boycott call against the Speaker. The Maoists had issued a diktat opposing the entry of Chaudhary in his constituency — Imamganj.

They also thrashed a few villagers who were close to the speaker.

With the panchayat elections round the corner, Maoists have once again stepped up their activities in Sherghati sub-division of Gaya district, considered to be a rebel stronghold.

Over the past month, the Maoists have blown up buildings of four government schools, four mobile towers and have torched nine vehicles.

Although the police have destroyed a couple of base camps and arrested at least five Maoists during the regular combing operations, they have failed to bring down the incidents of rebel attacks.

There are certain pockets under Barachatti, Bankebazaar, Imamganj, Kothi and Mohanpur police stations where the police party do not visit even during the daytime for fear of Maoists.

On Wednesday night, Maoists blew up buildings of two government middle schools at village Khajuria under Bankebazaar police station and at village Goitha-Mitha under Barachatti police station besides a mobile tower of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited at village Lutua under Imamganj police station. The double storied school building at Khajuria was badly damaged in the can bomb explosion, while the building at Goitha-Mitha partially damaged. It is in the wee hours on Tuesday that the Maoists had made an abortive bid to explode the building of middle school at village Goitha-Mitha. Maoists had also torched at least nine vehicles including four trucks, two buses and a small goods carriage van at Danua falling at Chouparan in Jharkhand state, carried out explosion in the engine room of two mobile towers of private company at Dumaria bazaar and slashed the Imamganj-Pratappur road near village Jai Bigha under Imamganj police station. Later on Tuesday evening, Maoists had torched an auto rickshaw on Imamganj-Kothi road. Earlier on February 15, Maoists had blew up two ground floor buildings of the government middle school at village Barha under Dumaria police station by planting can bombs. Important documents, books, furniture, mid-day meal grains and other items kept in the rooms of the two buildings were also either gutted in the fire or badly damaged. One of the buildings comprised of four and the other of three rooms. Doors, windows, roof and the walls of all the seven rooms were badly damaged in the explosion. Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vinay Kumar told The Telegraph that the security forces had destroyed the base camps of the Maoists at Barha and Khajuria. Police also destroyed poppy plants at village Masauda under Mohanpur police station recently. At least five hardcore Maoists have also been arrested that includes Sitaram Yadav, Pappu Yadav and Sandeep Yadav. In fact it was an act of desperation by the Maoists as they have been striking at the places where security forces carry out the combing operation and target the school buildings where cops stay at night for the operation.