Maoists brutally murdered two former village sarpanchs in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-affected Bijapur district. The victims, Suklu Farsa and Sukhram Avalam, were killed for their association with the BJP and for allegedly aiding security forces. Leaflets left near their bodies carried grim warnings for BJP workers which said “Quit BJP or die.”
The bodies of Farsa and Avalam were found on December 5 morning, dumped in separate locations within the district. Both were abducted a day earlier in targeted attacks.
Farsa, a two-time sarpanch of Aadwada-Biriyabhumi village (2004-2009) and a block-level BJP Kisan Morcha leader, was kidnapped on Tuesday evening while traveling to Bhairamgarh, a Maoist stronghold, to attend a funeral. Witnesses reported that three masked men intercepted him while he was with his wife. Despite his teenage daughter’s emotional video plea for his safe return, Farsa’s lifeless body, with his throat slit, was discovered in the Biriyabhumi area of Bhairamgarh.
Avalam, the other victim, was abducted from Kader village on December 4 evening. He was last seen heading to Kaika village for personal work when two men accosted him and took him into a forest. His body was found along the roadside near Kader village later that night.
Suklu Farsa:
Farsa, a former sarpanch of Aadwada-Biriyabhumi village and a BJP farmers’ wing leader, was dragged from the roadside by three masked men on December 3 evening. The kidnapping unfolded in front of his wife as they traveled to Bhairamgarh, a Maoist stronghold.
A desperate plea from Farsa’s teenage daughter, who released a video begging for his life, fell on deaf ears. By Wednesday night, Farsa’s mutilated body, throat slit and left lifeless, was found near the Biriyabhumi area. Pinned to his corpse was a Maoist leaflet. It read:
“He was warned two-three times by Maoists to quit the BJP. He ignored our warnings. The fourth time, he was punished with death.”
Sukhram Avalam:
Just 20 kilometers away, another gruesome scene played out. Sukhram Avalam, a former sarpanch of Kader village, was returning from the local market on December 4, evening when two men intercepted him. Witnesses reported that Avalam was dragged into a forest, only for his body to be discovered hours later on a nearby road.
A leaflet left by Maoists of the Gangaloor area committee accused Avalam of aiding the police by signing off on the establishment of a security camp.
“He betrayed the people. Anyone who works with the police or cheats the public will face death,” the note read.
These murders add to an alarming trend of Maoist violence in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division, a region comprising seven districts including Bijapur. Official records indicate that Maoists have killed at least 55 people in Bastar this year, including 25 civilians in Bijapur alone.
The BJP has borne the brunt of this insurgency. Since February 2023, eleven BJP leaders and workers have been killed in Bastar. This follows a string of assassinations between January 2022 and April 2023, where nine BJP leaders lost their lives. In stark contrast, three Congress workers have been targeted during the same period.
Despite increased police protections for 43 BJP leaders in March 2023, the recent killings highlight the Maoists’ ability to strike at will. Their strategy remains clear: intimidate local leaders, disrupt governance, and weaken state authority by sowing fear and chaos.
For Maoists, these killings are not random acts of violence but calculated political assassinations aimed at eroding faith in the state. By targeting figures like Farsa, who represented both political and agricultural leadership in his community, they are sending a chilling message: any association with governance or the BJP will not be tolerated.
Farsa’s teenage daughter, who pleaded for her father’s life in a heart-wrenching video, is now left with trauma and unanswered questions. Avalam’s family, too, is shattered, mourning a man whose crime, they claim, was simply trying to work for his village’s development.
Local communities are trapped in a perilous limbo, caught between the Maoists’ violent diktats and the state’s inability to guarantee safety. Fear runs deep, and confidence in the government’s ability to counter insurgency is waning.
The Maoist leaflets found at the crime scenes were unequivocal in their threats. They warned all BJP workers in the region to sever ties with the party or face the same fate. These declarations signal a direct challenge to the state’s authority and an open attempt to disrupt the upcoming election process.
Security forces have launched operations in Bhairamgarh and Naimed areas to trace the killers. Yet, the dense forests and mountainous terrain of Bijapur provide Maoists with a near-impenetrable cover, making their capture unlikely in the immediate future.
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