In yet another incident of targeted killings of civilians by the Maoists (Naxals) the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) has brutally killed a Patel (village head) of the Totoda village under Jambia Gram panchayat of insurgency-hit Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.
According to the reports, armed cadres of the PLGA barged into the house of village head Lalsu Vedada on Thursday night and shot him dead. It’s been reported that the Ultras also thrashed a youth and a few children before fleeing the spot. They also left a pamphlet on the spot accusing Lalsu for working as a police informer.
In the pamphlet left by the Maoists, the Gadchiroli Division Committee of the banned CPI (Maoist) while taking up the responsibility of the brutal murder has accused Lalsu for conspiring with the police and the Surajgarh mines owners. The Maoist in the pamphlets have further alleged that Lalsu was on the frontfoot in luring the locals to work in the mines for money. The Ultras have also accused the Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Hedari and a few local politicians for conspiring against the locals and looting the mineral-rich region.
The Maoists in the pamphlet have asserted that the Hedari SDPO and a few politicians are agents of the company owners, and they have taken lakhs of rupees from them for protection. In the end the Maoist while accusing Lalsu for passing crucial information to SDPO, have also warned others of dire consequences if they dare to follow Lalsu’s suit.
Targeted killings in Gadchiroli
It is to be noted that this is not the first time that the Ultras have targeted a civilian and murdered him while accusing him for working as an informer in the insurgency-hit Gadchiroli district, and numerous such incidents have been reported from the Naxal-hit regions of the bordering district in the past as well.
Recently, in another such incident, the Maoists also killed an innocent tribal man in Bhamragarh, Gadchiroli. The deceased was later identified as one Dinesh Gawde, a resident of Laheri. The Ultras had also left a pamphlet near the body of the deceased.
Earlier in a similar incident, a 25-year-old youth, Sainath Narote, from Madhukar village under Nalgonda police station limits of Gadchiroli was also abducted and brutally killed by the Maoists.
It was then reported that Narote was going towards a local market when cadres of the banned group abducted and forcibly took him along; it was learned that the Maoists alleged Narote was an informer before shooting him from a close range.
Other incidents from neighbouring regions
It is to be noted that the Maoist-affected regions in Chhattisgarh and adjoining regions of Maharashtra, Telangana, and Odisha have witnessed a huge surge in incidents of civilian killings by the Ultras, where more than a dozen civilians, including political workers, have been killed in the last year alone.
Earlier, in another incident of targeted killings of civilians, cadres of the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist) killed two civilians in the insurgency-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on June 28.
The horrific development occurred when the banned outfit called for a ‘Jan Adalat’ (Kangaroo Court of the Ultras) on June 28 and sought the presence of the villagers of Tadmela region, one of the worst Maoist-affected regions of the country. It’s been learned that after the Jan Adalat, the Maoists allowed the villagers to return, barring 4-5 of them, including the deputy Sarpanch and a Shikshadoot.
It’s been learned that the Maoists later killed both of them, alleging them for being police informers, and threw their bodies on the outskirts of the village. The rest of them, whom the Ultras released, have also been warned for acting against the interests of the Maoist outfit.
Later on, it was learned that the ‘South Bastar Divisional Committee’ of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) alleged both the deceased as informers while claiming responsibility for the killings. The deceased have been identified as deputy Sarpanch Madvi Ganga and Shiksha Doot Kawasi Sukka, both residents of the Tadmetla Panchayat of Sukma.
In a similar incident, a tribal youth was also abducted and then brutally killed by the Maoists in Turram police station limits of Bijapur in Chhattisgarh on May 02. As per the reports, the slain youth had gone into the forest with other villagers when cadres of the CPI (M) abducted him; later, the Maoists hacked him to death and then threw his body in the fields around one kilometre away from the Turram police station.
The deceased villager was identified as Avlam Hadma (28), a resident of Turrepara village under the Turram police station of the Bijapur district.
In another such incident, armed cadres of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the outlawed CPI – Maoist had brutally killed a villager in Andherpara village under Bhejji police station of insurgency-hit Sukma of Chhattisgarh in March this year.
It was then reported that the fateful incident occurred when around 6 to 7 armed cadres of PLGA barged into Andherpara village and abducted a villager, later identified as Raju Madkam, on suspicion of being a police informer.
It was learned that the Maoists took Madkam to the nearby forest, where they brutally hacked him after a brief interrogation; later, the Konta Area Committee of the banned CPI-Maoists claimed responsibility for the murder.
In another incident, armed cadres of the CPI had also barged into the house of a 38-year-old Narayan Nagesh in Lakshmanpur village of Raigarh in Nabarangpur district adjoining Chhattisgarh and killed him on the pretext of being a wood Mafia on March 17 this year.
In another such incident, armed groups of the Maoist barged into a religious gathering and abducted half a dozen villagers in Tumdiwal village of Kondagaon in March this year. It was reported that the Ultras took the villagers to the nearby forest, where they left five of them after brief interrogation, while the body of one of the villagers was recovered the next morning. Later, It was learnt that the Maoist killed him after alleging him for being an informer.
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