Maoists kill two on suspicion of being police informers in T’gana: Cops

Maoists allegedly hacked to death two men in Mulug district of Telangana over suspicions that they working as police informers, police said on Friday.

Maoists allegedly hacked to death two men in Mulug district of Telangana over suspicions that they working as police informers, police said on Friday.

Maoists kill two on suspicion of being police informers in T’gana: Cops

According to officials, the incident took place at the Penugolu village in the district near the state’s border with Chhattisgarh. The deceased were identified as Uika Ramesh (36), panchayat secretary of Penugolu village, and Uika Arjun (35)/

A police officer from Mulug, who refused to be quoted, said around six members of the Communist Party of India (Maoists) entered Penugolu village on the intervening night of November 21-22. They divided into two groups – one went to the residence of Ramesh and another to Arjun’s house. “The Maoists dragged the two men out of their houses and beat them up severely. Despite repeated pleas by their family members to spare them, the Maoists hacked the two men with axes and killed them,” the official said.

Before leaving the village, the Maoists left separate letters, purportedly written by CPI (Maoist) Venkatapuram-Wazeedu area committee secretary Shanta, on the bodies of the victims. The letters alleged that the two men were collecting information about the movement of Maoists and passing it on to the special intelligence bureau of the state police, involved in counter insurgency operations.

“We had warned Ramesh and Arjun several times to mend their ways, but they continued to act as police informers. Hence, we are eliminating them,” Shantha said in the letters.

The Wazeedu police, which came to know about the incident early in the morning, reached the village but the Maoists had left the area by then. “The bodies of the victims were shifted to the Eturunagaram Community Health Center (CHC) for post mortem,” the official said.

Following the incident, Mulug district police intensified combing operations in the interior forest areas abutting Chhattisgarh. “Special police teams have already been involved in the combing in the forest areas on the inter-state borders. We have also sounded an alert, cautioning political leaders and businesspeople not to enter the area in the present circumstances,” they added.

There has virtually been no major activity of Maoists in Telangana for the last 15 years, except occasional incidents of violence in Mulug, Jayashankar Bhupalpally and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts, bordering Chhattisgarh, where Maoists from the neighbouring state enter these villagers and indulge in sporadic attacks.

On September 5, six Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Neeladrigutta forest area of Karakagudem block in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, just adjacent to Raghunadhapalem village of Mulug district.

The earlier major encounter after the formation of Telangana was in the forests of Jayashankar Bhupalpalli district in March 2018, when 10 Maoists were killed.