MALKANGIRI: Less than 24 hours after the Maoists killed Guru Khilla of Tankamunda village under Khairput police limits, Malkangiri police nabbed four Left wing extremists from MV-72 area on Thursday.
The Maoists, late on Wednesday night, killed Khilla by slitting his throat suspecting him to be a police informer.
Khilla had been to his relatives’ house in Badural, about 30 km from Khairput police limits, on the fateful day. On getting information, a group of 50 rebels, armed with weapons, went to his relatives’ house and asked for Khilla. Soon after Khilla came out, they directed him to follow them. Later, they tied his hands and slit the throat with a sharp-edged weapon resulting in his death, sources said.
Police reached the spot around Thursday afternoon to recover the body. A poster left at the spot has threatened other police informers with dire consequences.
However, the Khairput IIC said Khilla was shot dead by the extremists. The body has been sent for autopsy.
Those arrested during a routine joint combing operation by District Voluntary Force (DVF) and MV-79 police on Thursday are members of Potteru Dalam, said Malkangiri IIC RK Pati. They have been identified as Salbum Era and Bandami Suba of Potteru village under MV-79 police limits, Bikram Bhumia of Rajgiri village and Pelam Naga of Manyamkonda village under Motu police limits, Pati added.
They were active members of the outfit and involved in many heinous crimes like the murder of Bandami Suresh of Potteru and Asi Rama of a nearby village a few months back, he said.
Bandami Suba and Bandami Suresh along with four other villagers of Potteru were abducted by the Maoists suspecting them to be police informers.
Later they released the four villagers but held Suba and Suresh hostage. Two days later, the rebels killed Suresh and released Suba unharmed.