Chhattisgarh: Naxalites kill ‘Shikshadoot’ in Bijapur on suspicion of being police informer

NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old man, working as a ‘shikshadoot’ (temporary visiting teacher in government schools), was abducted and killed by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, on suspicion of being a police informer, an official said on Saturday. Kallu Tati, a resident of Todka village under Gangaloor police station limits, was on his way back home from the school in nearby Lendra village when Naxalites kidnapped him on Friday evening, the official said.

Naxalites killed him with sharp-edged weapons and dumped his body near the village, he said. A team of security forces was sent to the spot on Saturday morning, and the body was sent for the post-mortem, he said. Naxalites have been targeting ‘shikshadoots’ in the Bastar region, suspecting them to be police informers, and this is the eighth such murder in the tribal-dominated Bastar region since June 2023, police said. Sundarraj P, Inspector General of Police of the Bastar Range, condemned the killing and said the perpetrators will be brought to justice with the strictest possible action.

Eight education volunteers killed in two years

“We strongly denounce the cowardly killing of a youth volunteer engaged in educating children in the region. Such heinous acts by Maoists, targeting those working to uplift society, will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” he told PTI. In the last two years, eight such dedicated volunteers have been killed by Maoists in Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, and Narayanpur districts.

The motive behind these killings is to deprive the native population, particularly children, of the opportunity for education, he said. Maoists fear that an educated and aware society would no longer support their outdated, inhumane, anti-development, and cruel ideology, the senior official said. The IG asserted that the Bastar police would thoroughly investigate every such crime and ensure the strictest possible action against the perpetrators.

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Police commit to protecting educators and citizens

Police forces remain committed to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, especially those engaged in education and developmental activities in the region, he said. “We reaffirm our resolve to intensify operations against Maoist violence and to safeguard the rightful aspirations of the people of Bastar,” the official said. Five of the eight ‘shikshadoot’ murders have been carried out this year, police said. On August 27, Naxalites killed a ‘shikshadoot’ in Sukma district, after carrying out a similar killing in Narayanpur district on August 15.

Last month, two ‘shikshadoots’ were killed by Naxalites in the Farsegarh area of neighbouring Bijapur district on suspicion of being police informers. On February 19, two men, including a ‘shikshadoot’, were killed in neighbouring Dantewada district, according to the police. In Sukma, a shikshadoot was killed in June 2023 and another in September last year. More than 30 people have lost their lives in Maoist violence in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, so far this year, said officials.