Suspected Maoists Abduct Eight Villagers

MALKANGIRI:Suspected Maoists have kidnapped eight persons from Mahupadar village in Mathili block on Odisha-Chhattisgarh border in the wee hours of Thursday.

A group of 20 armed people stormed into the village and called out the eight villagers. They later took the villagers to the forest at gun-point. Even as the reason behind the abduction is not clear, sources said the ‘Maoists’ suspected them of being police informers.

People of Mahupadar were in a panic after the incident. Police have started search operation in the village and its neighbouring areas. Besides, patrolling has been intensified by security personnel to prevent any untoward incident in the area.