RAIPUR: Maoists have murdered a mother of three in Bijapur, accusing her of working as a police informer. She was a relative of the village sarpanch and was threatened by Maoists twice in the past, say police.
The victim, 45-year-old anganwadi worker Laxmi Padam, was strangled in front of her family Friday night barely 1km from a CRPF camp. Laxmi is the 63rd civilian to be murdered by Maoists in Bastar division this year. It’s also the first time in over six years in Bastar that a woman was killed on this pretext. Laxmi was with her family in Timapur village in Basaguda region when 10 Maoists, in PLGA uniform, barged in, dragged her out and thrashed her. Her sons and mother tried to save her, but they were brutally thrashed and forced to watch Laxmi being choked to death. The Maoists dumped her body on the porch and walked back into the jungle.
Family members and villagers informed police and a team arrived to take the body for autopsy. Police found a handwritten Maoist leaflet where ‘Madded area committee’ said they killed Laxmi because of her “proximity with police and because she acted as police informer”. A search operation has been launched in the area to trace the assailants.
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