In back-to-back incidents of violence unleashed by the left-wing insurgents against unarmed civilians in the Maoist-affected State of Chhattisgarh, as many as two civilians have been killed by the extremists in Maoist-infested Sukma and Narayanpur districts of the State, suggests reports floating in the media.
According to the reports, the first incident occurred under the Bhejji police station limits of Sukma, a region known for frequent movements of extremists and the security forces combing teams, where the body of a civilian was traced on Wednesday morning, February 14.
It’s been reported that the extremists have also dropped a detailed handwritten note near the body of the deceased, labelling him as an informer for the police. The deceased was later identified as Podiyam Joga, whose body was found lying near the Gorkha area under Bhejji police station limits.
According to the details, Podiyam was an electrician who has been accused by the extremists of passing sensitive information to the security forces, leading to the encounters with the Maoists at times.
Villagers killed in Orchha
In another incident of similar nature that occurred on Wednesday evening, a villager who arrived at a weekly market was also killed by the Maoists in Orchha region of the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh.
The incident occurred when Mohammad Iqbal, a plumber by profession, was attacked and killed by the ultras in a weekly market in Orchha on Wednesday evening. The deceased was reportedly associated with the Jal Jeevan Mission project.
Notably, the Maoists also had abducted two labourers, along with a contractor and a JCB machine operator, from a construction site under Jagargunda police station limits of Sukma on Sunday, February 11. The incident occurred when armed cadres of the outlawed outfit barged at the construction site near Singaram village and took along the labourers’s and a JCB machine with them.
Following the incident, the family members of the abducted persons also made an appeal to the Maoists for the release of the kidnapped men. It’s been later reported that the Maoists set free all the abducted persons after imposing a few conditions on Tuesday, February 13.
It is worth mentioning here that the Vishnu Deo Sai led government has recently instructed the security official to amplify efforts to curb and counter the activities of the left wing extremists in the Bastar division of the State, a geographical region bordering with States such as Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The region has been in the grip of insurgency over the decades and is considered as the strongest bastion of the Maoists across the country. It is believed that the tightening grip of the security forces, along with the ongoing development work in the region, has frustrated the banned outfit, leading to incidents of killings, abductions of civilians, and obstruction of development projects by the extremists.
