Maoists kill two for ‘extortion’

Basant Rath | Nabarangpur Maoists on Saturday night shot dead two persons at Raighar, who were allegedly involved in extorting money in the name of ultras from tribals in Nabarangpur district, the police informed. The incident which took place at Timanpur village in Raighar block bordering Chhattisgarh is the first of its kind in the district. Locals found the bodies in the nearby forest on Saturday night. The two persons, identified as Pradeep Kumar Mukherjee of Jharigam and Baishakhu Bhotra of Umerkote, who were allegedly involved in collecting extorting money on the name of Maoists from tribal 'poddu' cultivators. Maoists had called the duo and killed them and then left a handwritten poster on the spot which mentioned the reason for their killings. They have also threatened to kill all those who were collecting money in the name of Maoists. Following the killings, security has been strengthened in the district, said district Superintendent of Police, Prafulla Chandra Barik. In another development a landmine, suspected to have been planted by Maoists, was recovered beneath a culvert on National Highway 215 near Kamarposh, about 120 km from Rourkela in Sundargarh district. The landmine weighing about 10 kg was recovered during patrolling by security personnel on Saturday evening and subsequently defused by a bomb disposal squad, said police sources. Vehicular traffic was halted for about six hours to avoid any mishap, the official said. Seven live bombs were also recovered on Saturday in Maoist-infested Malkangiri district. It was suspected that the ultras were planting landmines in different locations to target the security personnel ahead of the proposed bandh called by them from Monday. The Pioneer, Bhubaneswar date: 28.06.2010