MALKANGIRI:A day after Maoists allegedly killed Sitaram Khilla of new Tekguda colony under Ralegada panchayat, the Left wing extremists assaulted former sarpanch Arjun Hantal and two of his associates late Sunday night at the praja court on the outskirts of Panasput village in the cut-off region of Malkangiri district.
According to sources, about 10 to 20 armed rebels thronged Panasput village and barged into Arjun’s house. Later, they dragged him out of his house and picked up two of his aides from their respective homes in the same village. They took the trio to the nearby forest and produced them before the praja court.
Accusing the trio of passing on information to police about movement of Maoists in the area, they thrashed them in the presence of villagers. The victims were released after being warned of dire consequences.Meanwhile, panic spread prevailed in the cut-off region following the spurt in Maoist violence during the last couple of days.