Maoists again made their presence felt in Kalahandi district when they kidnapped three villagers on Wednesday night after the Red rebels suspected the villagers to be police informers.
District Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Rai informed the media that the abductees have been identified as Hari Pradhani, Banamali Naik and Sudarsan Naik of Narlapat village under the Thuamul-Rampur police station in the district. A group of 15 to 20 Maoists abducted the villagers. They also set a bike of a Special Police Officer (SPO) on fire, the SP informed.
Though police along with CRPF personnel were carrying out intensive combing operations, the whereabouts of the three villagers were still unknown. The Maoists have already spread their network in the district and carried out landmine blasts, torched construction equipments and also killed some locals alleging that they were police informers.
A senior police official said the rebels either take the support of locals or resort to violence to trigger a fear psychosis among them to carry out their activities unhindered.