Maoists kill Chhattisgarh villager accusing him of being police informer: Cops

Police said that they have sent the victim’s body for postmortem and launched a search operation to track down the assailants

RAIPUR: The Maoists allegedly killed a 41-year-old man accusing him of being a police informer in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Sunday evening, police said on Monday.

Police said they have recovered a Maoist pamphlet from the crime scene. (Representational image)

The victim, identified as Bhadru Sodhi, was attacked with an axe at his residence in Keshamundi village under Bhairamgarh police station limits. He succumbed to his injuries on the spot, a police officer said.

Police rushed to the location after receiving information about the incident and the body was sent for postmortem, the officer added.

A pamphlet allegedly issued by the Bhairamgarh area committee of Maoists, accusing Sodhi of being a “traitor”, was found at the scene.

The pamphlet claimed that Sodhi was involved in the now-disbanded Salwa Judum anti-Maoist militia and was leaking information about the activities of the outlawed CPI (Maoist).

Police said they have launched a search operation to track down the assailants.

According to police, continuous anti-Naxal operations in the district have pushed Maoists on the defensive, with security forces establishing camps in their core areas and reducing their stronghold. In retaliation, Maoists have been targeting innocent tribal villagers, accusing them of being informers and traitors, the officer said.

On January 16, Maoists allegedly killed a 48-year-old man accusing him of being a police informer in the Mirtur area of Bijapur.

Last year, 68 civilians lost their lives in Maoist violence across the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur, police records show.