Five months after security forces gunned down 17 alleged Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s southernmost Sukma district, Maoists allegedly killed two villagers and assaulted two others late on Monday night. They allegedly suspected the victims were Mukhbirs (informers).
A senior police official from Sukma police said, “They are taking out their frustration on innocent helpless villagers to create fear in the minds of villagers. They are shocked that we are getting information on them and getting close to them.”
In a meeting on Monday in Sireti village, 20 odd members from the Kerlapal committee of Maoists allegedly blamed four men for working with the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a state force made up of tribals from Bastar, including surrendered Maoists, police sources claimed. The village is under the jurisdiction of Kerlapal police station around 15 to 20 km from Sukma headquarters.
Around 10 pm, Maoists allegedly assaulted four men with sticks and murdered two of them by strangulation. The deceased are identified as Padam Pojha (20) and Padam Devendra (27).
Around seven kilometres from the village, the security forces had gunned down 17 Maoists in March this year. Police said Maoists suspected that the deceased villagers passed on information about them to the police.
With these two deaths, the total number of villagers allegedly murdered by Maoists this year in Chhattisgarh has gone up to 36 while last year, 71 villagers were killed in alleged Naxal violence — mostly murders, with a few deaths due to Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts meant for security personnel, police said.
This year, Maoists had also allegedly murdered eight Shikshadoots (temporary teachers) across four districts in Bastar region, suspecting them of being informers.
