A temporary teacher was murdered by Maoists, who dragged him out of his home in Silger in Chhattisgarh’s southernmost Sukma district on Wednesday evening. This is the fifth murder of a temporary teacher, known in the state as shiskhadoots, since September last year.
A total of 32 villagers have been killed in Maoist violence this year, while the figure in 2024 was 71.
The incident took place around 7 pm, barely three kilometres from a police camp, when 20-odd Maoists landed outside Laxman Barse’s house and dragged him out. “His wife tried to stop them, but the Maoists grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away from him. Laxman was attacked with sticks and an axe. There were no threats or Jan Adalat (people’s court) before the killing, which is a practice followed by Maoists,” a villager said.
Six months ago, Maoists had murdered Laxman’s brother, too, on suspicion of being an informer in Pegdapalli village.
“Laxman had studied up to the 12th standard and had been a temporary teacher for 10-12 years in Silger. He had been asking the government to regularise shikshadoots. He recently told me that Maoists have started targeting teachers and feared they may attack him too,” said the village, who did not wish to be identified.
According to officials, Maoists suspected Laxman was passing information to the Silger police camp. He leaves behind his wife and two children – one is three years old, and the other was born just six months ago.
The state had introduced the shikshadoot initiative as a temporary arrangement in remote villages in Bastar since hiring teachers there was proving difficult. A villager who has completed HSC (higher secondary certificate) can be hired as a teacher and is paid Rs 12,000 per month. They teach in primary schools, mostly run out of small huts.
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On July 14, two shikshadoots were killed by Naxals in the Farsegarh area of neighbouring Bijapur district on suspicion of being police informers. On February 19, two men, including a shikshdoot, were killed in Dantewada district. In September, Dodi Arjun, a shikshadoot, was beaten and strangled in Gondpalli village in Sukma.
