Naxalites have killed four villagers in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district after branding them as police informers, police said on Saturday.
The killings took place over the last two days in the forest of Dumri-Palnar village in the Gangaloor police station area, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said over telephone.
According to preliminary information, the Maoists summoned a few villagers who were supporting development work including road construction, to the forest and killed four of them.
The deceased have been identified as Punem Sannu, Gore Sannu alias Dhruva and Aaytu alias Falli of Pusnar village and Bhusku alias Tulsi from the nearby Metapal village, the officer said.
The Naxalites also beat up a few other villagers, Sundarraj said.
"However, it is not immediately known if the victims were killed together or at different times in the last two days," he said.
On being tipped about the incident on Saturday morning, security forces rushed to the spot, he added.
In recent months, Bastar region has witnessed a spike in attacks on villagers blamed on the Maoists.
On Friday night, Naxalites killed two men after branding them police informers and also assaulted a group of people accompanying the two when they went to a village in Bijapur from Dantewada district to finalize a marriage.
Last month, 10 villagers, including women, were thrashed by Naxalites in Chikpal village of Dantewada. And on July, 25 villagers were beaten up by the Maoists in Parcheli village in Dantewada.