Naxalites have killed two former heads village panchayats in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Thursday.
Naxalites in their pamphlets claimed former sarpanch Suklu Parsa was a BJP worker and accused the other deceased, Sukhram Avlam, of helping cops in setting up a police camp.
Parsa was killed on Wednesday in Bhairamgarh police station limits, while Avlam was murdered the same day in Naimed area, an official here said.
With these incidents, Naxalites have killed at least 55 persons so far this year in the state's Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Bijapur, according to police. Notably, nine BJP leaders were killed between January 2022 and April 2023 in separate incidents in the division. As per preliminary information, Naxalites abducted Parsa from Biriyabhumi village on Monday and killed him on Wednesday, the official said. Police were alerted after Naxalites dumped the body near the village on Wednesday night.
In a pamphlet found at the spot, Bhairamgarh area committee of Maoists claimed the responsibility for killing Parsa and said he was active as a worker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the official said. Naxalites also threatened BJP workers in the area with dire consequences and asked them to quit the party, he said.
The body of Sukhram Avlam was found on a road connecting Kader and Kaika villages under Naimed police station limits on Wednesday night, the official said. -- PTI