Naxals kill, set ablaze ex-colleague who turned cop in Bijapur

BIJAPUR: Naxals killed and set ablaze a former colleague, who had joined the police force after quitting the outlawed party, in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said on Friday. Rebels attacked Somdu Ram Poyam alias Mallesh, a constable of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), with sharp weapons on Thursday evening at Kotrapal village under Jangla police station limits, a senior official said.

The deceased policeman’s brother, who is a jan militia commander of Maoists in the area, was also allegedly involved in the attack, he said.

After quitting the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2014, Poyam had joined the DRG and was posted here, he said.

As per preliminary information, the victim had gone to meet his relatives in the village where ultras, including his brother, brutally thrashed him and killed him with sharp weapons, the official said.

The ultras also set the victim’s body on fire in front of his family members and fled the scene, he said.

After being alerted about the incident, a police team was sent to the scene on Friday morning to collect the victim’s remains, he said.

A search operation has been launched in the area to trace the Naxals involved in the killing, the official added.