VISAKHAPATNAM: Close on the heels of killing of Darsika Pullaiah (40) in Aligudem village in Chintooru mandal in East Godavari on Sunday, Maoists reportedly killed another tribal person in Busuputu area in Munchingput mandal in Visakhapatnam agency, on Tuesday night.
The hacked body of Ginabandhu (35) was found by the villagers on Wednesday, and police and the villagers suspect that he was killed by the Maoists, as he was earlier branded as police informer and threatened a number of times by members of the banned CPI (Maoists).
Bullet wounds
Bullet wounds were also found on the body, the police confirmed.
Both Pullaiah and Ginabandhu were branded police informers and then done to death. While Pullaiah was shot dead in front of the villagers, Ginabandhu was allegedly hacked to death on the village outskirts, reportedly after dusk.
Sources in the police say that the Maoists are trying to gain ground after the setback they suffered in Ramgarh in the cut-off area of Andhra Odisha Border (AOB).
About 30 Maoists, including top leaders of State secretary cadres such as Bakuri Venkatramana alias Ganesh and Kishtayya alias Uday, were killed in the exchange of fire with the elite anti-naxal force of Andhra Pradesh, the Greyhound, between October 24 and 27, last year.
Since then, Maoists have been lying low and their first major strike was on February 1, when they triggered an IED and blew a police minibus that was ferrying 13 trainee assistant drivers of Odisha State Armed Police, near Sunki in Koraput district of Odisha. While eight died on the spot, five were seriously injured.
Thereafter on Sunday, they struck again by killing Pullaiah and on Tuesday by allegedly killing Ginabandhu.
Common strategy
“This is a common strategy followed by the Maoists since the last two decades. Every time their (Maoist) popularity or presence is hit, they try to comeback to prove their strength by killing innocent tribal people after branding them as police informers. It is the fear tactics that they use to assert their hold over the tribals,” said a senior officer, engaged in anti-Maoist operations.
According to sources, Pullaiah owned a small provision store in Bhadrachalam and had come to visit his family on a weekend at his native village of Aligudem when he was killed, and Ginabandu owned a small provision stores in his native village.
