Naxals kill two men in Chhattisgarh for being 'informers'

The Naxals allegedly killed two men, including a village head, accusing them of being police informers, in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh, police said today.

They added that the rebels had called for a day-long bandh in the south Bastar region today against the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the SC/ST Act.

Somaru Ram Mandavi (28), the "sarpanch" of Darbha village under the Kutru police station in Bijapur district, was attacked by the ultras last night, Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohit Garg told PTI.

"A few armed Naxals stormed into his village, located around 450 kms from Raipur, and attacked him with an axe and sticks," the SP said, adding that Mandavi was killed on the spot.

The Naxals accused him of being a police informer before killing him, the SP said, adding that a search was launched in the area to nab the assailants.

In another incident, an unidentified man was allegedly hacked to death by the Naxals in the insurgency-hit Dantewada district.

A Maoist pamphlet found from the spot claimed that the slain man was a police informer, the police said.

Other Maoist pamphlets recovered from the spot criticised the recent Supreme Court order, "modifying" the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, they added.

"The body was found in a pool of blood on a road near Gadhmeri village under the Kuakonda police station," Dantewada Additional Superintendent of Police (Anti-Naxal operations) Gorakhnath Baghel told PTI.

A Maoist pamphlet recovered from the spot claimed that the deceased was "Saddu Raj" of Latur and acting as a police informer, Baghel said, adding that the police were yet to confirm his identity.

The police also got in touch with the road contractors operating in the area to find out if the deceased was employed by any of them, but they could not identify him, the officer said.

Another senior police official posted in the insurgency-hit Bastar region said the Naxals had called for a day-long bandh in south Bastar, in protest against the apex court's last month ruling on the SC/ST Act.

Maoist pamphlets and posters in support of the bandh call were found in the area where the body of the deceased was lying, he added.

The apex court had last month introduced certain conditions before taking government servants and others into custody under the SC/ST Act.