Nabarangapur (Odisha): A man was shot dead by suspected Maoists holding him responsible for clearing forests and leasing out forest land for human settlement in Odisha's Nabarangpur district, police said on Saturday. The incident took place at Laxmanpur village under the Raighar block of the district on Friday night and the deceased was identified as Narayan Nagesh (38).
Some posters left by the killers claiming to be belonging to the CPI (Maoist) Mainpur-Nuapada Divisional Committee, termed Narayan Nagesh as a timber mafia, who was accused of destroying forests in the area. Narayan was punished because he was damaging the green cover," the posters said. Earlier on February 23, Maoists had allegedly lifted Chandan Mallik (35) of Khalepara village from the Hatigaon area and killed him. They had also killed Narad Markam (45) of Chamenda village bordering Chhattisgarh, police sources said.
Also read: Maoists kill villager on suspicion of a police informer in Odisha's Kalahandi
The body was recovered and shifted to a hospital for conducting an autopsy, said the police. The police said the Maoists are targeting civilians, "but we are determined to eradicate the Maoists' menace in the region as we are conducting the anti-Maoist operations." According to sources, Maoists killed two civilians each in Odisha and Chhattisgarh for different reasons in the last few months.
It may be recalled that the Maoists utilise the dense forest cover to launch attacks on security personnel and flee. "Preliminary probe suggests the Maoists fled to Chhattisgarh state after carrying out the attack," said a senior police officer. Furthermore, after a brief lull, the Maoists yet again resumed their activities by killing a civilian.
