Maoists Kill Ex-Associate Alleging Him to Be Police Informer

Sundargarh: Alleging him to be a police informer, a group of armed Maoists allegedly shot dead their former associate Nelson Bhengra, inside the Saranda jungle near the Odisha-Jharkhand border.

The deceased was from Samatha village under Jaraikela police limits. He was part of the outlawed Maoist organization for long till his arrest in May 2023. After being released on bail he was again arrested on charges of extortion attempt from a road construction firm.

He was released from jail two months back and was employed as a night guard at a culvert.

It is alleged that the Maoists operating in the area suspected him of being a police informer. As per reports, Nelson was taken away from the Samatha village by a group of armed Maoists on January 10 night.

The marks on the body of Nelson hint that he was first beaten ruthlessly and then was shot dead from close range. The Maoists destroyed the mobile phone and other belongings of the deceased by burning them down. They also left a handwritten poster near the body which stated that Nelson was killed because he was a police informer.

Police and CRPF personnel have started search operations in the forests of Jaraikela, Manoharpur, Chotanagra area of Saranda in the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand to track down the killers.