Suspected Maoists have gunned down a timber merchant in tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district of Orissa bordering West Midnapore district of Bengal and threatened to "punish middlemen (dalals)". Last night about eight gun-totting ultras dragged Goutam Hatoi (38),who ran a timber business in Jhatiara village of Suliapada block,from his home. "When his wife asked the armed men,suspected to be Maoists why they were taking her husband,they promised to release him in 10 minutes. But his body was found near Kathasirisi village,bordering West Midnapore. He was shot from close range," said Suliapada police station officer-in-charge Anand Chandra Patra. Some posters written in Bengali and Oriya that "Dalals would be punished in a similar way" were found near Haoti's bullet-ridden body. Hatoi,who hailed from West Midnapore district of neighbouring West Bengal and was engaged in timber business in the area for the last five years. The victim was running a saw mill. Police said they don't have any idea whether Hatoi had earlier been threatened by Maoists.
