Maoists have again started killing poor people suspecting them as police informers in tribal pockets of the State. The outlawed rebels have become more violent from the day of Silakota encounter where 13 of their cadres were killed by the Malkangiri police on September 14 last. To take revenge of the encounter, the Red rebels went on a killing spree by orchestrating a series of attacks and blasts targeting the security forces and innocent tribals. Most tribals have been killed on suspicion of being police informers, said sources.
As a traditional method to shut mouths of tribals, the Maoists generally try to create a fear psychosis by killing a handful of their leaders. However, as the tribal populace grew increasingly unsupportive and is rather protesting the gory act of the blood thirsty Maoists, especially in districts like Nuapada and others, the latter are even targeting the common man on street.
However, there is no denying of the fact that in a district like Malkangiri, which is known as safe haven of Maoists due to free flow of the cadres from Chhattishgarh, curbing the ultras has been a tough task. The recent surrender of some cadres of the left Wing extremists in Malkangiri has posed a threat to the organization. The Maoist outfits generally don’t like their manpower draining out as they have been struggling hard for new recruits in order to strengthen their base.
Besides, when old cadres surrender to police, they help the latter bust Maoist camps by providing them vital leads, said sources. The recent spate in attacks is a sign of the frustration among the Maoists, who have been deeply worrying about fast erosion in their support base and hence, are trying desperately to terrorise the tribals to be supportive to their cause. As a first step, they are trying their best to keep their movement and training a top secret. If they suspect anybody to be passing on information to police, they kill him instantly.
During last month, the ultras killed several people in Malkangiri and destroyed a bridge and vehicles used for construction of roads in the Maoist infested districts. On Monday, the Maoists killed local leader Kosa Madhi (38) of Sangel village under the Kalimela police station in Malkangiri district suspecting him to be a police informer.
After blowing up Padia block office on December 24, armed Maoists exploded a bridge on the river Saberi snapping road link between Kalimela and Padia in Malkangiri district on December 28. Similarly, the Maoists set on fire two tractors and a Hitachi excavator used for road construction near Panimunda on December 20.
On December 14, the Maoists shot dead two persons, including a village panchayat ward member, in Malkangiri district two days after abducting them. On the same day, a group of ultras shot dead a contractor Gobinda Saha at MV-90 under the Kalimela police limits in the district suspecting him as a police informer. On December 11, a group of armed Maoists set a private bus on fire at Telerai under the Kalimela police station in Malkangiri district. Similarly, the ultras killed two persons suspecting them to be police informers and set ablaze at least five vehicles near laxmipur in the Koraput district on December 8.
If we see the State-level data presented by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the State Assembly, seven security personnel and 21 ultras have been killed and 87 of them surrendered before police in 2013 till November end. Out of the 87 ultras surrendered this year, 65 came from Malkangiri district, followed by nine in Koraput and five in Rayagada district.
Sources said that Maoist-related incidents this year claimed the lives of 23 civilians as compared to deaths of 25 civilians during the year 2012. “So far as common people are concerned, they neither interfere with the business of the Maoists, nor with the operation of the police, but they are being targeted by both. People are very important in a democracy where they have the right to life. This cannot be snatched away,” said a lawyer of Malkangiri district.