New Delhi:
In a brazen attack by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur, Samajwadi Party leader Santosh Punem was abducted and killed on late Tuesday evening, a latest media report said on Wednesday. “Santosh Punem a resident of Marimalla who also worked as a contractor was abducted from his construction site in Marimalla village on Tuesday late evening” DIG (anti-Naxal operations) Suderaj P was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times. According to the HT report, the attack to place 15 km away from the police station.
The killing is a stark reminder of the menace of Left-Wing Extremism. On April 9 earlier this year, Maoists had attacked a BJP poll election convoy in Dantewada district in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, killing party leader Bhima Mandavi and four state police personnel.
A month later, security forces avenged the killing and neutralised the mastermind of the attack in an encounter on May 26. The encounter happened in a Chhattisgarh's Hiroli, about 500 km for the capital Raipur. A team of the police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on anti-Maoist operation, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava told news agency PTI. The police team also recovered a revolver from the spot. Police said the Maoist was involved in over 40 cases of violence. He was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 lakh.
In 2013, Maoists had attacked a convoy of Congress workers, killing senior leaders, including Mahendra Karma, V.C. Shukla and state party chief Nandkumar Patel.
