Seven men from Hindu upper castes were killed at a roadside restaurant in India's crime-prone Bihar state, the latest caste-related violence in the region, police said Sunday.
The killings occurred Saturday night in Bihar's Newada district, about 60 miles southeast of the state capital, Patna, Director-General of Police D.P. Ojha told The Associated Press.
The attack was carried out as the men sat at a restaurant near the busy state highway connecting Patna to the city of Ranchi. Six men were killed on the site. One died in the hospital early Sunday, Ojha said.
Those dead included the father-in-law of Akhilesh Singh, who leads a gang of upper caste militia in the state, Ojha said.
The police chief said the upper-caste men were apparently killed to avenge the killings Thursday of seven lower-caste Dalits, often called the "untouchables" in India's social hierarchy.
A lower caste group called the Ashok Mahto gang was suspected, he said.
Caste clashes are common in Bihar, one of India's poorest and most crime-wracked states. Landowning upper castes are fighting a battle for supremacy with lower caste farmers, and both sides are frequently attacked by caste militias.