Raipur, June 17 (IANS) Brutal killings and mass abduction were reported from Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Tuesday evening, as suspected Maoists targeted a family connected to a surrendered Maoist and unleashed violence on villagers in Peddakorma, a remote forest settlement in the district.

“We have received initial information, and a team has been dispatched to the crime scene. Initially, we have been informed that three individuals—identified as Gujhin Gumo Diyam, Soma Modiyam, and Anil Madvi—were killed. All were reported to be close relatives of Dinesh Modiyam, a former Maoist who had surrendered to authorities earlier. But only the police team will confirm after reaching the spot,” Chandrkant Governa, Additional Superintendent of Police, Bijapur, told IANS.

According to reports, the attackers arrived in significant numbers between 4 and 5 p.m. and quickly surrounded the village. The killings were reportedly swift and targeted, suggesting a retaliatory motive rooted in the victim’s association with the ex-rebel.

In addition to the murders, around seven villagers were badly beaten and left with severe injuries, reports and other sources said. Nearly a dozen others were abducted and taken into the dense forest. The exact number and identities of the kidnapped remain unconfirmed.

An official statement is awaited to be issued by the Bijapur district police or state authorities, though initial reports suggest the assault was intended as a warning to those perceived to be cooperating with security forces.

The incident underscores the fragile nature of peace in the Maoist-affected Bastar division, where recent counterinsurgency operations and government rehabilitation schemes have led to a wave of surrenders by lower- and mid-ranking cadres. While these initiatives aim to undercut the rebel ranks and promote reintegration, those who renounce the underground movement often become targets of suspicion and hostility from within their own former circles.

Chhattisgarh has witnessed numerous such retaliatory attacks over the past decade, highlighting both the resilience of the insurgency and the limitations of the current surrender-and-rehabilitation model in fully insulating defectors and their families from danger. Tuesday’s violence also calls attention to the persistent gaps in grassroots intelligence and the challenges faced by law enforcement in securing remote areas.

Security forces have reportedly been mobilised in the region, but the thick forest terrain and strategic familiarity of the insurgents continue to impede rapid response efforts. As night fell over the region, fear and uncertainty gripped villagers, many of whom remain reluctant to speak publicly amid ongoing threats. The incident marks another grim chapter in the state’s long struggle with left-wing extremism.

–IANS

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