

RAIPUR: Maoists killed a BJP Scheduled Tribe Morcha district vice-president, accusing him of being a police informer in Bijapur, south Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday.
Satyam Punem, 35, a BJP worker from Mujalkanker village in Usur tehsil, Bijapur, was killed in a targeted attack after receiving repeated warnings from the banned CPI (Maoist) to stop supporting the police. He was a BJP worker for the past twenty years.
The Maoists left a pamphlet at the crime scene, accusing Punem of being a police informer.
“Police have registered a case and launched a search operation in the area. Punem was vocal in promoting government welfare schemes. A leaflet from the Madded Area Committee of the CPI (Maoist) claiming responsibility for the killing was also recovered,” said Bijapur district police chief Jitender Yadav.
So far this year, Maoists have killed 21 civilians in Bijapur district, he added.