Maoists shot dead two persons, including a village panchayat ward member, in Malkangiri district on Friday night, two days after abducting them. The bullet-riddled bodies of Tulasi Behera, ward member of Chintalguda, and Jaga Madkami of Ramaguda were found in a forest in the Bejangwada area on Saturday morning, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said. BSF and police personnel had moved to the Tekguda jungle after the incident and an operation was launched to neutralise the ultras in the area.
The two deceased were among the seven persons, most of them tribals, who had been abducted by the Maoists in the early hours of December 12. However, the guerillas released another two abducted villagers on Saturday, said police sources. On Friday afternoon, the Maoists had released Deba Padiami, Gudra Sodi and Suba Khara from their captivity. The killing of the two came close on the heels of the gunning down of the father of a panchayat samiti member in the Motu area in the district.
A group of about 40 Maoists had come to the house of Prabhakar Madkami, father of Manyamkonda panchayat, late Thursday night and shot him dead after calling him out. A few hours later, they set a private bus on fire near Beheraguda in the Bejangwada area on Friday.
Earlier, the Maoists had kidnapped three persons, including the son of a sarpanch of Gamphakunda, on December 4. One of them escaped from the clutches of the ultras next day while the other two were released on December 7. In yet another incident, a group of Maoists shot dead a contractor at MV-90 under the Kalimela police limits in the district on Saturday afternoon. The deceased was identified as Gobinda Saha, whom the ultras killed suspecting him as a police informer, sources said.