After 17,000 turn up for police recruitment, Maoists kill disabled tribal

Nagpur: Maoists hacked a 38-year-old disabled tribal resident to death in Malampudur village of Bhamragarh taluka, south Gadchiroli, on Wednesday.
Though Maoists are yet to make any claims for their heinous act, security agencies feel it was backlash for the 17,000-strong turnout for police recruitment on June 19 in the district. The sizeable number of aspirants vying for the 136 police constable posts, defying their threats, is likely to have triggered Maoists’ wrath.
The rebels have been targeting vulnerable tribal people in the district this year. They murdered four tribals from Etapalli taluka in May.
Police sources said Luckykumar Oksa, a resident of Bhusewada village, was a manager at a tendu leave collection centre. He was residing at Malampudur village, which is close to the collection centre.
Maoists dragged him out of his house in the night, took him to a nearby forest and killed him with a sharp weapon.
Police superintendent Ankit Goyal said Maoists left behind no pamphlet claiming they targeted the tribal victim. “There is no clarity about the motive of the murder. This year, Maoists have killed several people without any motive for their action,” he added.
Goyal said the participation of tribal youth from remote places in the police recruitment drive cannot be ruled out as the reason behind Maoist rage, and their targeting the innocent tribal to terrorise residents.
Sources said Oksa may have also been murdered over a monetary dispute. Maoists may have been unhappy over some unfulfilled demands or wrongdoing of Oksa, which might gradually come to fore.