Maoists forced as many as 23 tribals living in a village in insurgency-hit Kondagaon district to abandon their village, police said on Tuesday.
Detailing about the reason behind the move taken by Maoists, police informed that two surrendered insurgents who are now part of Chhattisgarh police had some relatives in the village. They have been forced by Maoists to leave the village after they accused them of being police informers.
The villagers were all residents of Padeli village under Mardpal police station limits and a case in this connection has also been registered, Superintendent of Police (SP) Kondagaon JS Watti said.
In their statement, the victims said that a group of Maoists stormed into village Padeli on April 9 and forced them to leave their homes following which they shifted to another village. Finally, they arrived at Mardapal police station on Tuesday to lodge a complaint in this regard, the SP said.
The villagers be provided with accommodation and other facilities at the Kondagaon district headquarters, the SP said.
Notably, around 21 tribal families from different villages of the restive Abhujmad region in Narayanpur district left their homes after allegedly receiving threats from Maoists to vacate the village last month.
According to the police, the Maoists are losing their support base and hence are "terrorizing" other villagers to become their supporters.