BJP worker killed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh

A BJP worker was brutally killed by suspected Maoists in the Madded area of Bijapur district in South Chhattisgarh, a region long affected by left-wing extremism. A pamphlet found near the victim’s body claimed responsibility for the killing and accused him of being a police informer.

The deceased, identified as Poonam Satyam, was an active local-level BJP functionary. According to sources, the pamphlet, issued in the name of the Madded Area Committee of CPI (Maoist), alleged that Satyam had repeatedly provided intelligence inputs to the police and aided anti-Maoist operations. It further stated that he had been “warned multiple times” but was “punished” for ignoring those warnings.

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Police said preliminary investigations indicate that the Maoists strangled the victim with a rope before leaving the pamphlet at the spot. “A case has been registered, and a detailed probe is underway,” the police said in an official note.

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Vijay Sharma condemned the incident, asserting that both citizens and even several Maoist cadres now realise that the ideology of violence has no future in Bastar. “The people of Bastar have made it clear that Naxalism must end. Even many Maoist groups have accepted that this path must now be abandoned,” Sharma said, reaffirming the state government’s determination to root out left-wing extremism from the region.

The killing has triggered tension in the region, which has recently witnessed a series of successful anti-Maoist operations. However, the murder of a BJP leader in Bijapur has raised serious concerns despite intensified security measures and the expansion of police and paramilitary camps under the state’s anti-Naxal strategy.