Maoists shot dead two tribal civilians including a village head in Malkangiri district of south Odisha at wee hours of Friday.
The incident occurred at remote Badliguda village under Kalimela police station limits. The deceased have been identified as the tribal village head or ‘peda’ of Deba Padiami and a peasant Ganga Madkami.
According to police sources, a group of armed Maoists stormed the village at around 1 am and searched for the two victims. After making forceful entry into their houses they had shot them from close range. Both the victims had died on the spot. The Maoists suspected them of police informers.
However, police denied it and said that it was a cold-blooded murder of innocents by Maoists. The Maoists’ motive is to terrorise the tribals living in remote areas, police said
Speaking to The Hindu , Malkangiri Superintendent of Police (SP) Akhileswar Singh said a officials from the police and the anti-Maoists operations squad had been rushed to the spot to initiate a probe.
It may be noted that the ADG of Border Security Force (BSF) B.D.Sharma had visited Malkangiri district on Thursday to review the anti-Maoist operations continuing in the district in which BSF personnel are also involved.
