Police near the site of the murders
Five girls of a family, aged between 8 and 13 years, were allegedly shot dead in their sleep at a village in Gaya in Bihar last night.
The girls, who were cousins, were alone in their house when the attackers allegedly barged in and shot them.
A district official said the girls were daughters of three brothers who had fled the village after a villager filed a police complaint against them over a dispute.
The girls' brothers were left unharmed by the killers, which, according to the police, pointed at personal enmity as a motive.
The family has named distant relatives as suspects.