A member of the Indian parliament and at least three other people have been shot to death by suspected Maoist rebels in the eastern state of Jharkhand.
A local police official Pankaj Darad says Sunil Kumar Mahto was watching a football game held to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi in the village of Bakuria when rebels disguised as villagers opened fire at close range.
Two of Mahto's bodyguards were killed with him.
Mahto was a member of parliament for the area and also was secretary general for the regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party.
He was in the village as the guest of honor for the football match.
Maoist rebels in India say they are fighting for the rights of the rural poor and landless. Thousands of people have been killed in the decades-old insurgency.
A local police official Pankaj Darad says Sunil Kumar Mahto was watching a football game held to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi in the village of Bakuria when rebels disguised as villagers opened fire at close range.
Two of Mahto's bodyguards were killed with him.
Mahto was a member of parliament for the area and also was secretary general for the regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party.
He was in the village as the guest of honor for the football match.
Maoist rebels in India say they are fighting for the rights of the rural poor and landless. Thousands of people have been killed in the decades-old insurgency.