Palamu, Jan 23 (ANI): Residents of Kauria village in Palamu district of Jharkhand face social boycott after two Maoist rebel groups fought pitched battles last August. Kauria villagers are being ostracised by the neighbouring villages on suspicion of sheltering Maoist rebels, a charge they vehemently deny. Villagers claim that it is hard to find suitors and brides for the youth as nobody is willing to maintain relations with them. An encounter between two Maoist outfits -- Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI-M) and its splinter group Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) -- left 16 people dead. The village also lacks basic necessary infrastructure like schools etc, she added. Residents of Kauria live in a perpetual fear as they feel that the police have been lax in conducting patrolling in the area and have not come to check on the people ever since the last encounter took place.
