“A dispute over a piece of land from the family’s ancestral property is the reason behind the killing. We are also investigating into thefamily’s claims,” said Additional SP (Baghpat) Manish Mishra.A tribal man was killed and two others were severely injured in an attack by suspected Maoists in a remote village in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, a senior police official said on Wednesday. According to the police, a group of around 20 armed ultras attacked residents of Khajuriguda village, under Jodamba police station limits in Swabhiman Anchal, and picked up the three victims suspecting them to be police informers. The incident took place on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, the police said.
One of the victims, Dasu Kheumudu, whose throat was slit with a sharp object, succumbed after the attack while the other two managed to return to the village and are currently undergoing treatment. Both of them are said to be in a critical condition.
The attack comes a day after the BSF had seized and defused seven improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from the area following a tip off from the villagers. “The victims were innocent tribals. On being informed about the attack a team was dispatched to the spot and the body was recovered. We are suspecting that the accused were Maoists and further investigations to identify them and arrest them are underway,” said Malkanagiri Superintendent of Police, Rishikesh Dnyandeo Khilari. Combing operations have been intensified in the surrounding areas.
“Such an incident has been reported after a long time. We have been actively penetrating in these areas and they have not been able to execute their activities in this area. Through the incident today they want to coerce people and threaten them, but a thorough investigation into the matter will be conducted,” he added.
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