Bijapur villager helps CRPF find explosives from Maoist area, later ‘dies by suicide’ out of fear rebels may target family
The 48-year-old tribal man was found dead near Vatevagu CRPF camp, around 50 km from Bijapur headquarters
The district, spread across 6,500 sq km, is one of the largest districts in the country and is also the most Maoist-affected one. A 48-year-old tribal man, who helped the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) find hidden explosives in a Maoist-affected area in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, later died by suicide, purportedly out of fear that his family may be harmed by Maoists, officials said. An inquiry has been initiated into the incident.
On Saturday, a CRPF team on a search operation reached Rekhapalli, a village that is inaccessible by road, around 10 kilometres away from the Vatevagu CRPF camp — 50 km from the Bijapur headquarters.
From the village, the security personnel took a few villagers with them on the search operation, including 48-year-old Madvi Bhima, officials said. According to them, the security forces found medicines and materials used to make IEDs from a location around 4 km from the village with the help of information provided by Bhima.
Bhima later had dinner with the forces at the camp and then left for a walk, officials said, adding that sometime later, he was found hanging from a tree. Security personnel immediately pulled him down and tried to resuscitate him, but he could not be saved, they said.
Bijapur police said the village is still a hotbed of the Maoist party and that it falls under the rebels’ Pamed Area Committee of South Bastar division, which has, over the years, seen several murders of villagers by Maoists for allegedly being police informers.
“We suspect Bhima was scared that he or his family would be harmed by Maoists. An inquiry is being conducted,” said a police official.
The district, spread across 6,500 sq km, is one of the largest districts in the country and is also the most Maoist-affected one. Out of the 463 Maoists killed since 2024 in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, 219 (47%) were killed just in Bijapur. The district also has the highest number of militia cadres, with 1,049 Maoists being arrested and another 790 Maoists surrendering since 2024.
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