Maoists beat up 35 villagers in Bastar

RAIPUR: As many as 35 villagers in Bastar were allegedly beaten up by Maoists on Saturday after they refused to attend a Thursday meeting called by the banned Communist outfit in Dantewada.

“The villagers who resisted the call, were tied to trees and beaten up for hours,” said Abhishek Pallav, superintendent of police (SP), Dantewada.

This is the first time in the history of Bastar that Maoists have targeted so many villagers in an act of retribution, said the SP. The injured are residents of Phulpad village, which comes under the jurisdiction of Kuakonda police station.

According to him, there is huge pressure on the villagers by the security forces not to support Maoists. Of late, the villagers have also started approaching the district administration for infrastructure facilities.

“On Tuesday, some of the villagers contacted the district collector demanding roads. This angered the Maoists, resulting in the backlash,” said the Dantewada SP.

“Among the injured,12 were admitted at a community hospital , while one person was shifted to Dantewada district hospital. The condition of the injured is reportedly stable,” added the SP.

A case has also been registered. Extra police personnel have been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.