CPI (Maoist) killed one more mid-level leader of erstwhile Salwa Judum, the controversial peace march, on Wednesday night in Sukma district when he was returning from a marriage function, District Police Superintendent Abhisek Shandilya told The Hindu .
Swayam Mukka, was proceeding on a motorbike from Sukma town to his village in Errabore, about 15 km south of Sukma, when a small squad of Maoists chased him, said Mr. Shandilya.
Mr. Mukka was killed at a place called Ashirguda.
The ex-Judum activist always shared a difficult relationship with the Maoists and had left for Andhra Pradesh before Salwa Judum’s formation in 2005.
He came back a year after to join the movement and steered the Judum’s activities in the area, locals said.
Spate of killings
In the last few years, after the collapse of the Salwa Judum, dozens of its leaders were killed by the Maoists. There are doubts regarding the killings of some Salwa Judum leaders and special police officers (SPOs), like Kartam Surya of Sukma district.
However, there is little doubt that most of the Judum activists were killed by the outlawed party.
In most cases, the party issued press releases at the local level and accepted responsibility. On Tuesday, they issued a press release on the founder of Salwa Judum, Mahendra Karma, and the reasons for killing him.
The Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in the State's Bastar district on Saturday last, killing 27 people, including Mahendra Karma.
Mr. Shandilya said, a police team had reached Ashirguda to recover Mukka’s body.
