Naxals kill woman in Chhattisgarh, accuse her of being police informer

A 40-year-old woman, Yalam Sukra, was killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on December 7. Sukra, a resident of Laded village under the Madded police station area, was abducted by suspected Naxalites on the evening of December 7. The militants took her to a hill located nearby, where they allegedly strangled her to death. Her body was found abandoned in the area.

At the scene of the crime, police recovered a pamphlet that was reportedly issued by the Madded area committee of Maoists. The pamphlet accused Sukra of working as a police informer since 2017. The Naxals are known to target individuals whom they suspect of collaborating with security forces, and this killing is believed to be part of their ongoing campaign against alleged informers.

This incident follows a series of killings in the Bijapur district, which has been witnessing increased violence linked to Maoist activity. On December 6, another woman, Laxmi Padam, an Anganwadi worker, was killed in the Basaguda area of Bijapur under similar suspicions of being a police informer. Padam, aged 45, was reportedly strangled by Naxalites inside her house. A pamphlet was also recovered at her home, which accused her of sharing information with the police.

In addition to these two killings, on December 4, two former sarpanchs (village heads) were also killed in separate incidents in Bijapur district. They, too, were accused of aiding security forces. These killings are part of a broader pattern of violence in the Bastar division, which encompasses seven districts, including Bijapur, Dantewada, Sukma, and Narayanpur. According to police reports, Naxalites have killed over 60 individuals this year in the Bastar region, with many victims being accused of supporting the police or other security agencies.

The Chhattisgarh police have launched a search operation to apprehend those responsible for the killings. Authorities have yet to make any arrests, and investigations are ongoing. Naxalites continue to operate in the region, despite various counterinsurgency efforts by security forces. The violence in the Bastar division remains a major challenge for the state authorities, with incidents like these contributing to the ongoing insecurity in the area.