Raipur: In another incident of targeted killing of civilians by Maoists, members of Maded area committee of the banned CPI [Maoist] have murdered a local Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] worker in Usur area of Bijapur district.
The incident unfolded on late evening October 13, when 10-15 members of the unlawful group barged into the Munjal Kanker village under the jurisdiction of Ilmidi police station of Usur block, and dragged out local BJP worker Satyam Punem from his house.
Satyam was later strangulated to death by the Naxals who have labelled charges of espionage against the BJP block level worker.
In a handwritten note dropped near the body of Satyam, the extremists have alleged Satyam for sharing sensitive information related to movement of Maoists to the police. The ultras in the letter have further claimed about issuing multiple warnings to Satyam in the past.
The authorities after the brutal murder have launched an investigation and efforts are being made to nab the extremists involved in the ghastly killing.
The incident has once again underscored the risk posed by the terror group to civilians residing in the remote villages under its reach.
It is worth mentioning here that local political workers who dissent with the Maoist violent ideology have long been victims of targeted attacks carried out by them.
Numerous such incidents of killings of political workers have also surfaced in the past, reflecting the grave security threat faced by those who are politically active in the areas dominated by the Maoists.
This comes amidst security forces’ intensified campaign against Naxals in Bastar, resulting in neutralisation of many top commanders along with surrender of top Maoist leaders.
Earlier on October 14, senior politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati alias Sonu reached Gadchiroli police headquarters to lay down arms with 60 others Naxals.
The development marks a significant blow to the Naxal outfit who with surrender of Bhupati has now been left with only three active politburo members. Notably, the Union Government has set a deadline to eradicate the red terror menace from Bharat by March 31, next year.
