The Chhattisgarh Police have written a letter to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), seeking a probe into the killing of three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in Bastar region by suspected Maoists in the last 10 days, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
The letter by director general of police (DGP) was addressed to NIA director general.
“The Chhattisgarh DGP has written a letter to NIA seeking to investigate the cases of three BJP leaders who were killed in the last 10 days,” the statement said.
On Saturday, former sarpanch and BJP functionary Ramdhar Alami was allegedly killed on suspicion of being a police informer, according to police officials.
On February 10, BJP’s Narayanpur district vice-president Sagar Sahu was shot dead in Chhote Dongar.
Prior to that on February 5, mandal president Neelkanth Kakkam was shot dead in Awapalli area of Bijapur district.
The government claimed that Maoists in Bastar are upset as the region under their dominance is shrinking and therefore, are targeting public representatives.
The statement also said that chief minister Bhupesh Baghel lauded the efforts of the police in Maoist-affected areas to encourage the rebels to surrender.
“The chief minister said that the effective strategy of development, trust, and security has resulted in a significant reduction of the Maoist menace in the state,” the statement said.
A total of 555 Maoists surrendered in the state last year as a result of the government’s efforts for public welfare, the government said.
“During the same period, as many as 46 Maoists were killed in police encounters. In the last four years, cases against more than 900 families in insurgency-hit areas have been withdrawn, providing relief to innocent people. This was made possible through the government’s visionary approach to the welfare of the tribals and the sensitive handling by the police,” it added.
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