Maoists on Tuesday gunned down a panchyat samiti member in Rayagada district alleging his illegal involvement with companies looting the tribals in the area.The deceased was identified as Gandhigopal Chetty (48) of Sikarpai under Kalyansinghpur police limits in the district.
He was a lawyer by profession and a part-time contractor in his area. Chetty, a Congress worker and former sarpanch of Sikarpai panchayat, was elected as samiti member in the last panchayat elections.
According to reports, a group of four Maoists in the morning suddenly opened fire at Chetty when he was filling petrol in a petrol pump, 10 km away from Sikarpai. After the firing, the ultras slit throat of Chetty and fled from the spot leaving a hand-written poster. Chetty, lying in pool of blood, died on the spot.
The poster bearing the signature of Bansadhara-Nagabali-Ghumusar division secretary Umakant claimed that they killed Chetty for his tyrannical attitude towards poor people.
After getting information from the locals, police rushed to the spot and seized two khokas, one live bullet and the red poster.