Maoists claim to have killed 25 tribals in Chattisgarh’s Bijapur in last week of September

In a statement, Maoist spokesman Vikalp called the 25 “traitors” and added a “people’s court” punished them with the support and participation of the people after obtaining “clear evidence” in Bijapur’s Gangaluru area

Maoists have claimed to have killed 25 tribals in Chhattisgarh’s left-wing insurgency-hit Bijapur district in the last week of September for allegedly being part of a covert police operation and acting as secret agents and informers.

The statement by the Maoist spokesperson did not specify when the killings were carried out. (Representational Image)

In a statement, Maoist spokesman Vikalp called the 25 “traitors” and added a “people’s court” punished them with the support and participation of the people after obtaining “clear evidence” in Bijapur’s Gangaluru area. He added they included 12 secret agents, five covert operatives and eight police informers.

The statement did not specify when the killings were carried out. But the police in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district bordering Chhattisgarh said they received intelligence inputs that the Maoists killed 16 villagers after holding a “people’s court” in the last week of September. The Maoists also kidnapped a few other villages and took them into forests and might have killed them later, a police officer said.

Vikalp said one of the secret agents working for the police turned out to be Maoist leader Vijja. “Our inquiries revealed that Vijja had been acting as a police agent for the last two years and entrusted with the responsibility of harming the central committee of the Maoist party. He had provided crucial information about the party meetings to the police four times. Though huge police forces were deployed, we could escape with the help of people, alertness and support from the local groups.”

Maoists were earlier reported to have shot dead Modium Vijja alias Bhadru, 39, for killing innocent villagers. Vijjalu carried a cash reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Vikalp said Bastar’s police inspector general P Sundar Raj and superintendent Kamala Lochan Kashyap and other top officers managed the covert operation Samadhan Yojana aimed at eliminating the Maoists by 2022. He added police opened bank accounts for the slain agents, covert operatives, and informers.

Vikalp alleged they were involved in atrocities against tribals, including rapes, murders, and looting. “They released dogs on people and detained innocent people in camps to pressurise them to surrender.”

Raj said the killings show the frustration of Maoists and that fear of becoming extinct was haunting them. “They have lost the public support due to their own misdeeds and their leadership is now totally clueless and directionless.” Raj said anti-Maoist sentiment was building up in the tribal areas and their movement is nearing an end.

(With inputs from Ritesh Mishra, Raipur)