Naxalites kill two in Dantewada, accuse them of being police informers

In a tragic incident, two men were killed by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district after being accused of acting as police informers. The victims, identified as Baman Kashyap (29) and Anis Ram Poyam (38), were attacked in their village, Todma, under Barsoor police station limits on Wednesday evening, according to police officials.

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Security personnel were immediately dispatched to the village, which is located deep in the forest on the Dantewada-Bijapur district border. Authorities are currently investigating the incident and awaiting further details.

One of the victims, Baman Kashyap, was working as a ‘shiksha doot’ (temporary visiting teacher) at a local government school. A pamphlet left at the scene by the Aamdai Area Committee of the Maoists’ East Bastar division accused him of being a police informer. The pamphlet claimed that Kashyap had provided critical intelligence to Dantewada police regarding Maoist movements before the Thulthuli encounter in October 2024.

The Thulthuli encounter, which took place on October 4, 2024, resulted in the death of 38 Naxalites during a clash with security forces in the dense forests between Thulthuli and Nendur villages in Abhujmaad. This recent killing adds to the rising death toll in Bastar division due to Naxal violence.

So far in 2025, Maoists have killed at least seven individuals in different incidents across Bastar. On February 6, Naxalites murdered a former village head in Dantewada, while on February 4, a 30-year-old man was hacked to death in Aranpur. Additionally, on February 3, two men were killed in Bijapur, one of whom was a former Maoist member.

The wave of Naxal violence extends beyond this month. On January 26, Naxalites killed a 41-year-old man in Bhairamgarh, accusing him of leaking information about their operations. Earlier, on January 16, a 48-year-old man was murdered in Bijapur’s Mirtur area under similar accusations.

According to police records, 68 civilians lost their lives in Naxal-related incidents in Bastar last year. The latest killings reflect the ongoing tensions in the region, as authorities continue their efforts to curb Maoist influence and protect civilians from targeted attacks.