Maoist rebels in India have gunned down and beheaded a school teacher who was campaigning against them in West Bengal, police said on Wednesday.
"A group of about seven Maoist rebels attacked the school teacher... when he was going to attend a meeting," West Bengal police inspector general Surojit Kar Purokayastha told AFP.
"His beheaded body was found in Sirishboni village about 170 kilometres (105 miles) west of Kolkata on Tuesday."
The teacher, named as Sastyakinkar Mandi and thought to be about 50 years old, was a member of a group that was spearheading protests against Maoist attacks on the people of his district, West Midnapore.
More than 80 people, including security personnel, have been killed by Maoists in the district this year, said the police officer.
According to the United News of India news agency, Maoists also staged attacks in the neighbouring Jharkhand where state assembly elections are under way.
One paramilitary police officer was killed in a landmine blast in Giridh constituency, senior police officer M S Bhatia was quoted by UNI as saying.
The Maoist insurgency started as a peasant uprising in 1967 but has now spread to 20 of India's 29 states. The rebels claim to be fighting for the rights of India's poor and tribal populations.
{{/usCountry}}The Maoist insurgency started as a peasant uprising in 1967 but has now spread to 20 of India's 29 states. The rebels claim to be fighting for the rights of India's poor and tribal populations.
{{/usCountry}}The rebels usually target train tracks, police stations and officers, as well as other public buildings, in the "red corridor" of Maoist activity stretching across north and eastern India.