Less than 10 days after the massacre of eight backwards in this central Bihar district, 12 members of an upper-caste family were gunned down in their sleep early today. Over 50 armed men in paramilitary uniform stormed Afsar village well after midnight and opened fire on 15 people sleeping on a terrace. As the victims lay writhing in pain, their throats were slit with long swords. Eleven people died on the spot. Of the remaining four, one succumbed to injury on way to the hospital. The dead include a four-year-old and a 10-year-old. Two schoolboys who tried to escape when the firing started, are now fighting for their lives in Patna Medical College. The victims were Bhumihars. 'I was awake the whole night. I heard the footsteps of men climbing up. I thought they could be policemen watching over us because tension was prevailing for some time. Then I heard suppressed gunshots. As I tried to stand up, two gun shots were fired at me,' said Babulal Sharma, a 67-year-old survivor. 'I wanted to die with them. Why did I survive?' he said, breaking into sobs as he fingered the bullets that had missed him. Hours after the massacre, hundreds of Bhumihar youth fanned out in Nawada town and began to smash passing vehicles. They also set a morning train on fire near here. The blaze was put out by railway staff. About 100 residents of surrounding villages gathered at the carnage site and refused to hand over the bodies, which are lying under the blistering sun and already showing signs of decay, to the police till the Governor and the Union home minister arrived. Senior police officers, including director-general of police K.A. Jacob, and home secretary U.N. Panjiyan were camping in the area till late evening. Caste tension has been brewing in this part of Nawada after an Independent candidate, Aruna Devi, the wife of alleged gangster Akhilesh Singh, was elected to the Assembly. Her husband, who had helped several senior leaders get elected from the constituency, was allegedly under attack from the Yadav gangs after Aruna's election. Following a protracted face-off, Akhilesh Singh's gang abducted three Dalits and killed five Yadavs, including a minor, on June 3 at Pakribrahma village under Rajobigha block. The incident sparked severe tension, bringing Laloo Prasad Yadav to the village. The inspector-general of police, Magadh and Patna range, ruled out the involvement of Naxalites in the massacre. Following angry protests from villagers who alleged the complicity of a deputy superintendent of police, P.K. Mandal, director-general Jacob has promised a probe. Mandal had allegedly visited the Bhumihar family a night before the massacre assuring them full police protection. The killings will mean fresh trouble for the Rabri Devi government, already under fire from the Opposition and ally Congress for the deteriorating law and order. The National Democratic Alliance today demanded the dismissal of the chief minister for her failure to stop the massacres. The Opposition is expected to step up its campaign against the government. Neither Rabri Devi nor Laloo Yadav have visited the carnage site. However, the chief minister condemned the killing and said that the next of kin of the dead would be given adequate financial assistance. She also has directed the Nawada police to launch a crackdown on the Akhilesh Singh and Ashok Mahato gangs. The backward caste gangster who allegedly led today's attack has been identified as Ashok Mahato. He is believed to be close to a minister in the Rabri Devi Cabinet who is an Independent MLA from Nawada. The victims were relatives of Bhumihar gangster Akhilesh Singh. Akhilesh's brother, Rajo Singh, was among the dead. Their mother Malti Devi alleged that a day before the massacre, some unknown men from Rajobigha had asked where their relatives lived. 'I had shown them this place without knowing they would eliminate all the male members,' she said. With tension running high in Nawada, the picturesque town is set to go the Jehanabad way. As this correspondent was returning, an upper-caste gangleader said: 'Hope to see you soon at another similar site.'