rival gangs one led by Akhilesh Singh and another one led by Ashok Mahto were active here. These gangs were aligned on the caste lines and drew support from their respective castes. The war claimed 200 lives in all. In this particular incident 12 relatives of Akhilesh Singh, whose wife was an MLA from the region were murdered by the Ashok Mahto gang. The Mahto gang was also responsible for assassination of Rajo Singh, a member of parliament. Belchhi massacre 1977 In 1970s, the Belchhi village in Bihar witnessed one of the severest massacre of Bihar's history. The root cause of the massacre was caste conflict between Paswan landless peasants and Kurmi landlords. This massacre parted the way between Kurmis and Paswans and made them sceptical of each other's activities in all spheres of life. Mahavir Mahto was the main accused of the carnage in which Dusadh people were the victim. Senari massacre 1999 In the Senari village (now in Arwal district of Bihar) the dreaded naxalite organisation MCC killed 34 Bhumihars. The naxalite unit was dominated particularly by Yadav and Paswans. The convicts included Bacchesh Singh, Buddhan Yadav, Butai Yadav, Satendra Das, Lallan Pasi, Dwarika Paswan, Kariban Paswan, Godai Paswan, Uma Paswan and Gopal Paswan, who were later tried by the Session court. The victims were killed using blunt objects with utmost severity. Bhojpur Killings (1971–76) Bhojpur is a historical region in Bihar, most often known for its association with Ujjainiya Rajputs. The region is also known for worst form of landlordism which was the cause of popular movement called "Bhojpur rebellion" led by newly educated backward caste youths namely Jagdish Mahto, Rameswar Ahir, Ramnaresh Ram, Maharaj Mahto who took up arms against the landlord class when mobilised by communists. Between 1971 and 1976 as Santosh Singh estimated a large number of Bhumihar landlords and landlords of other upper-caste were killed. After Mahto's death the movement faded away bringing long lasting peace in the region. Danwar-Bihta massacre 1989 Danwar-Bihta massacre took place in 1989 in the Bhojpur district of Bihar. The Upper Caste landlords earlier used to capture the polling booths and made the Dalits vote in favour of their preferred candidates, in order to secure political power in their own hand. The Dalits in the village of Danwar-Bihta took up a resolution in 1989 to vote as per their own wish. The local Rajput landlords thus massacred 23