Lanjigarh: Two back-to-back murders of two persons by ultras on suspicion of being police informers in this block in Kalahandi district has brought to light the functioning of the Maoist outfits, a report said.
The ultras shot dead a contractor Rajendra Sahu on suspicion of being a police informer at the crowded Pahadpadar weekly haat under this block Sunday afternoon.
A few hours later, they killed Bhima Dora at Babupadar village claiming he was also an informer.
The ultras have released some posters after the murders owning up their involvement. The handwritten posters that were found stuck at Lanji and Mushanala have revealed that the ultras have split into various groups and that they are not functioning as a unified unit.
The Rayagada area committee of Maoists has claimed its involvement in the murder of Sahu while the Kalahandi area committee of Maoists held itself responsible for Dora’s killing.
Earlier, the Vamshadhara-Ghumusar-Nagabali division of Maoists was involved in all the offensives being carried out in the area. But now, the posters released by various splinter groups indicate that the Maoists are not functioning as a cohesive unit but have split into various groups.
In the posters, the ultras have warned that they will not spare anyone acting as police conduits and will give them capital punishment or might force them to consume poison and commit suicide in the presence of a large number of people.
A handwritten letter was found near the body of Dora Monday while several such posters were found Tuesday.
The twin murders have unnerved the villagers so much so that they were seen rushing indoors before evening and remaining inside by bolting their doors. Fear seems to have written large on their faces as they refuse to speak anything on the killings.
A pall of gloom has descended on both the villages but the villagers are too afraid to meet the bereaved families and express their condolences.
Senior cops meet bereaved families
Meanwhile, Kalahandi SP B Gangadhar and DIG (Southern Range) Himanshu Lal visited the Pahadpadar and Babupadar villages and expressed their condolences to the bereaved families. Lal also announced Rs 8 lakh Central assistance and Rs 5 lakh state assistance to the family members of both the slain villagers. A sum of Rs 10,000 from the district Red Cross Fund was also given to the bereaved family members of Sahu and Dora. Lal also gave Rs 4000 from his own pocket to the kin of Dora.
The bodies were handed over to both the family members after post-mortem while two separate cases were registered at the Bijepur and Biswanathpur police stations.
PNN