In another act of their barbarity, the Maoists gunned down a tribal Special Police Officer (SPO) in public at Kattakonda village under the Kalimela police station in Malkangiri district on late Friday night.
Kanhu Charan Madhi (25) of Kattakonda village had come on leave to meet his wife, who delivered a baby three days ago.
According to Inspector in-Charge of Kalimela police station SK Nayak, a group of 20 ultras barged into Madhi’s house and inquired about him. They left when they could not get Madhi, but a little later they returned and shot down the SPO, who was sleeping on the verandah of his house.
Madhi had been posted in district headquarters in view of the Maoist threat to him for quite some time.
Red rebels had asked him to quit the police job and leave the village, the police said. After the shocking incident, combing operations in the area were intensified.