Naxals slit village chief’s throat in Bastar

Residents opposed Maoist activities

The sarpanch of a village in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district was killed by Naxals at his home, the police said on Saturday.

A group of armed rebels stormed the house of the sarpanch of Chhindgur village, identified as Pandru (45), and slit his throat on Friday night, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (south Bastar range) P. Sundararaj told PTI.

The village is located inside a dense forest about 25 kilometres from Darbha, which is itself about 350 km away from Raipur, Mr. Sundararaj said.

The official said that people from Chhindgur and nearby villages have been opposing Naxal activities for the past couple of months. The Naxals would kill villagers or village heads branding them as police informers just to remind the people of their power, he said.

Severe setback

The official said the Kanger Ghati area committee of the Maoists, which operates in the Darbha area, has suffered crippling blows in the past couple of years. Most of its cadre had either been killed or arrested or had surrendered. He said that the cadre strength of the Maoists in this area may now be in single digits.