Maoists Kills 2, Including Ex-Colleague On Suspicion Of Being Cop Informers In Chhattisgarh

Maoists hacked to death two men, one of them their former colleague, at a village in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on the suspicion of being police informers, an official said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday night in Bugdicheru village under the Tarrem police station area, he said.

A group of unidentified Maoists marched into the village and dragged Karam Raju (32) and Madvi Munna (27) out of their houses. They then slit their throats with sharp-edged weapons, leading to their death on the spot, the official said.

After being alerted by villagers, a police team rushed to the spot in the morning and sent the bodies for post-mortem, he said.

A pamphlet issued by the Jagargunda area committee of Maoists was found at the spot in which the two who died were accused of acting as police informers, he said.

Raju was once an active Maoists who later surrendered and was leading a normal life in the village, he said.

Investigations revealed Maoists had assaulted Munna in the past too after accusing him of acting as a police informer. Munna's elder brother was murdered by Maoists a few years back in Potali village in neighbouring Dantewada district, the official said.

Maoists have suffered huge losses in their rank and file and senior members in the last one year in anti-Maoist operations carried out by security forces. They have also ceded territories under their control following the establishment of new security camps in their core areas, the official said.

Maoists are venting their frustration on innocent tribal villagers and targeting them by accusing them of being "traitors" and police informers, he said. 

On January 26, Maoists killed a 41-year-old man in Bhairamgarh area of Bijapur after accusing him of leaking information about the outlawed CPI (Maoist). On January 16, Maoists killed a 48-year-old man in Mirtur area of Bijapur on the suspicion of being a police informer.

According to police, 68 civilians were killed last year in separate incidents of Maoist violence in the Bastar region comprising seven districts, including Bijapur.

So far this year, 50 Maoists have been killed by security forces in separate encounters in the state. Last year, 219 Maoists were neutralised by security forces in Chhattisgarh, police said.

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