Chhattisgarh: Maoists kill dy sarpanch in Sukma; hollow talk on truce exposed
RAIPUR:
Maoists murdered a deputy sarpanch in insurgency-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Monday evening. Ten civilians have now been murdered by Maoists in Bastar division this year, and several others have died in IED blasts.
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The murder exposes the hollow claim of Maoists that they seek a ceasefire, and want govt to halt the 'decisive operation' underway in the Karegutta Hills range in Bijapur so that peace talks can be held.
Police identified the victim as
Muchaki Rama
of Tarlaguda panchayat, around 430km south of Raipur in a dense forest region.
Around 4pm on Monday, a Maoist hit squad showed up at his doorstep in Benpalli village in Jagargunda area, less than 5km from Tarlaguda, when Muchaki was taking a nap.
They were disguised as villagers but were armed.
They ordered him out of his house and took him away while his family watched helplessly. On Tuesday morning, villagers saw his body lying on the outskirts of Tarlaguda and alerted police. Autopsy suggests Muchaki was strangled with a rope.
This is the second murder of a civilian by Maoists in Sukma in around two months. A 65-year-old villager — an uncle-in-law of former CPI MLA Manish Kunjam — was hacked to death on March 4.
Muchaki's murder comes at a time when security forces are fighting what's being called the 'decisive' battle against Maoists in neighbouring Bijapur. Some 24,000 security personnel are trying to corner 400-500 Maoists, led by dreaded commanders like Hidma and Deva, in the Karegutta Hill range on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. Maoists have repeatedly urged that the operation be halted, but govt has said there can be no conditions for talks.
Last year, 68 civilians were killed in Naxal violence in Bastar.
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