RAIPUR: Days after the Bhairamgarh Area Committee of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) hanged two villagers to death on alleged charges of espionage in Mirtur, another innocent villager was mercilessly thrashed and strangulated to death subsequently on similar charges in violence-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, suggests reports.
According to the details, the incident has unfolded under the Jagargunda police station limits of Bijapur where cadres of the banned outfit have killed a ‘Shikshadoot’ (A contractual government employee tasked with teaching children of remote areas) by strangulating him to death.
The deceased Shikshadoot has been identified as Dudhi Arjun, a resident of Gondpalli, who was first produced before a Jan Adalat, a self-styled Kangaroo court of the Maoists and was beaten black and blue by the members of the proscribed outfit who later strangulated him to death on suspicion of espionage related activities.
Learning about the incident, a police team soon reached the spot and initiated an enquiry into the matter by lodging an FIR at Jagargunda police station. Further, search operations to trace all those involved in the gruesome murder are also being conducted.
The incident has sent shockwaves into the area as this is the second incident of civilian killing that has occurred within a span of three days and in a similar incident reported on September 12, the Maoists have executed two more civilians, by labelling similar charges on them during a public hearing in Mirtur.
The extremists abducted Madavi Suja and Podiyam Kosa from Jappemarka village under Mirtur police station limits of Bijapur on Tuesday, September 9. Both Kosa and Madavi were later paraded before a “Jan Adalat”, and hanged to death on nearby trees in full public view.
It must be noted that the Maoists have been on a killing spree recently, executing scores of civilians by branding them as informers. According to the authorities, the surge in killings of innocent civilians by the extremists’ showcases the brewing frustration among the group given the growing infight between the locals and outside cadres alongside continuous advancement of security forces in core insurgency zones.
Notably, as per the figures available at South Asian Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total of 35 civilians have been so far killed in violence pertaining to the Maoist insurgency in the state of Chhattisgarh as of August this year. This comes amidst string of targeted operations carried out by the security forces in core insurgency zones of the state, culminating in neutralisation of 158 Maoists in the corresponding period.
