A group of some three dozen armed dacoits killed three villagers and looted cash and valuables worth over a million of rupees in two villages in Dhanusha district Saturday night, reports said on Sunday.

Some two dozen villagers were injured in the attack by the bandits.

According to reports, the armed dacoits attacked the Hansapur village of Kathputala VDC in mid-Dhanusha at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night. The dacoits brutally murdered Ram Ekbal Kapar and Vijay Singh of Hansapur village and Mahendar Sahani of Paundeshwar-1.

The same bandit group is believed to be behind the incidents in both the villages which lie at a distance of four kilometers from each other.

According to reports, the villagers in Hansapur had retaliated against the dacoits after the latter entered the village. But the dacoits took the retaliating villagers under control and stroke more than two dozen of them with sharp weapons and bullets.

The injured are undergoing treatment at Janakpur Zonal Hospital. Five of the injured villagers are reported to be in critical condition. The district-based joint security forces had arrived at the village only at around 2:00 am in the night, reports added. They took the injured villagers to the hospital. Details of the incident are still awaited. nepalnews.com amt Dec 12 04