Suspected Maoists kill tribal in Odisha’s Koraput district

Reported by Ranjan Rath
Koraput, Nov 7:

In what is being seen by security forces as a sign of their increasing desperation, Maoists killed a 50-year-old tribal villager in the Narayanpatna block of Odisha’s Koraput district  late on Thursday night.

According to reports, a group of 20-30 armed Maoists arrived at Siriguda village of Kambari panchayat under Narayanpatna block at about 10 PM on Thursday and took Rajeya Sirika from his house and killed him by slitting his throat on the outskirts of the village.

The villagers found the body in the wee hours today.

Though Siriguda village is just 2 km away from the BSF camp at Dandabadi, neither the Central forces and nor the police was aware of the presence of the red rebels, who stayed in the village for nearly three hours on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, a special team of police led by Narayanpatna IIC rushed to the village today for an on-the-spot investigation.

The son of the deceased Rajeya told a local television channel his father was a drunkard, but had no enmity with anyone. He also said he had no knowledge of the Maoists issuing any threat to his father before they killed him.

This is the first killing of the Maoists after the surrender of Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS), Nachika Linga on October 28 this year.

The BSF and the district police have launched a joint combing operation “Daya” after Linga’s surrender.

Let down by the arrest of top cadres during the recent combing operations by Central para-military forces along the Odisha-Andhra and Odisha-Chhattisgarh borders, followed by the killing of three Maoists by the villagers in the border area recently, the left wing ultras have now begun targeting innocent tribals, police sources said.

In a desperate bid to assert their influence, the Maoists, led by Daya, secretary of Andhra-Odisha Border Zonal Committee and leader of Srikakulam Divisional Committee, are now trying to regain their control in Narayanpatna, Bandhugan, Laxmipur, Koraput, Nandapur, Semiliguda and Pottangi blocks in Koraput district.