In yet another unfortunate incident of targeted civilian killing in Chhattisgarh, a villager was allegedly killed by the Maoist in insurgency-hit Kanker district on Monday, April 15 according to reports.
According to the details of the incident floating in the media, the brutal incident took place in the Hidur village of Maoist-affected Chotebethia police station limits of Kanker district, where the extremists have allegedly killed a villager on charges of espionage.
It has been reported that the Maoists, after killing the villager, threw his body at the outskirts of the village. An atmosphere of fear reportedly prevails in the village and nearby surroundings after the murder, and even the relatives of the deceased men are reportedly reluctant to file a complaint about the incidents.
Meanwhile, the Kanker police have launched an investigation after the murder and are probing the matter from all possible angles. It is to be noted that this is not the first time that the insurgents have targeted a civilian in the regions still dominated by them and such incidents have been keep coming to the fore on a regular intervals.
Growing frustration among the Maoist group
If security experts are to be believed, the surge in incidents of civilian killings in the Maoist affected regions of Chhattisgarh reflects nothing but the growing frustration of the outlaws in their strongest bastion, leading them into target unarmed civilians to spread fear.
Earlier, in a similar incident reported from core Maoist zone of Bijapur, the extremists brutally killed three men in Basaguda region on 25th of last month. According to the reports, the incident occurred on the day of ‘Holi’, when the Ultras launched a surprise attack on Chandriya Modiyam and Ashok Bhandari and hacked them to death,
Another villager identified as Karam Ramesh had received grave injuries in the attack and was immediately rushed to the local health centre, where he succumbed to his injuries subsequently.
According to the officials, the targeted killings of civilians in Maoist affected areas of the State are indicators of growing frustration among the outlawed Communist Party of India Maoist (CPI Maoist) which was once running parallel governments in a number of districts of the insurgency-hit State.
However, things have changed rapidly in the past 8-9 years during which hundreds of security camps have been established in the Maoist-hit regions of the country, triggering reactions from the outlaws, who now fear all out action from the forces.
The growing presence of the security forces in the interiors of Bastar have also led to the arrest, killing and surrender of scores of cadres of the banned outfit in the recent few years ultimately weakening the strength of the Mao’s men in their own bastion.
Police announced reward on providing information on Maoist
Meanwhile, the police and the security forces, on the other hand, have amplified their campaign against the Maoist. In a recent development, the Kabirdham (Kawardha) police, in a bid to eradicate the spread of the Maoist from the district, has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh on sharing information about the Maoist.
According to the information available, the police have reached out to around 35,000 people of the Maoist affected areas of Kawardha through pamphlets and WhatsApp in the last few days. The officials have also visited homes in the insurgency prone areas and informed the people about the reward provided by the police for sharing information on the insurgents.
छत्तीसगढ़ के कबीरधाम जिले में पुलिस ने घोषणा की है कि जो लोग नक्सलियों की गिरफ्तारी या उनके मारे जाने में पुलिस की मदद करेंगे उन्हें आरक्षक के रूप में भर्ती किया जाएगा तथा पांच लाख रुपये का नकद इनाम दिया जाएगा।#naxal #chhattisgarh #police #reward #jagoindiajago #Jijnews pic.twitter.com/9BqOGHXCPb
— Jago India Jago News (जागो इंडिया जागो) (@jago_indiajago) April 16, 2024
Speaking to the media, Superintendent of Police, Kawardha, Abhishek Pallav said, ” Those who will share the information regarding the Naxal will be rewarded with Rs 5 lakhs.”
“If one Maoist is killed or arrested, up to five people will be provided jobs on constable post as well”, said SP Pallav, while adding that left-wing extremism will be eliminated from the district with in the next six months.
HM sets target of three years
It is worth mentioning here that earlier, Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, in a public gathering, vowed to eradicate the Maoist insurgency from Chhattisgarh in the next three years.
Addressing a political rally in Khairagarh of Rajnandgaon, Shah had asserted that the Maoist issue is on the verge of elimination. ” The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, in its tenure of 10 years, has almost eliminated-Left Wing Extremism, and only its tail is left in the State of Chhattisgarh, which will be eradicated if the Modi government returns for a third term.
Since the return of a Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Chhattisgarh, the battle against the Maoist has once again intensified, resulting in the arrest of over 150 Maoist and surrender of 250 of them while a total of 54 Maoist have been killed in the same period, give a third term to Modi Ji, I assure you we will finish Maoism in the next three years, added Shah.
