Malkangiri (Odisha): A Maoist was allegedly stoned to death and another cadre has been critically injured by some locals of Janturai village under Papermetla police limits in Malkangiri district late last night during a face-off.
The identities of the deceased Maoist and the injured cadre are yet to be ascertained.
Two Maoists had come to Janturai village on Saturday night and told the residents to observe the Republic Day as 'black day', a senior police officer said.
However, the residents opposed the Maoist diktat and instead chased the duo out of the village. As the Maoists opened blank fire to terrorise the people, the villagers retaliated with their traditional weapons like bows and arrows besides resorting to stone pelting in which one Maoist was killed and another was injured, he said.
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The villagers were of the opinion that they were deprived of development programmes because of the Maoist presence in the area. Recently, the Maoists had opposed the construction of a road to Janturai village located in the cut-off area of the district.
The village is cut off from rest of the state as on three sides of it is encircled by water of Balimela reservoir while there is a forest on one side adjoining to Andhra Pradesh.
One Maoist was killed and another seriously injured in the incident, the first such incident of villagers attacking Maoists in the state, police said.
