Maoists Strike Back

Red terror is back in Gadchiroli with seven tribals killed in 15 days— the highest in a decade.

- Kiran D. Tare

Maoists gunned down seven tribals, who they suspected of being police informers, in Gadchiroli during the past fortnight. This is the highest number of civilian deaths in Maoist violence in nearly a decade. The upsurge in Maoist violence follows relative calm through 2018, during which the Maharashtra police eliminated 50 rebels without losing any of their own men.

Three villagers—Mallu Madavi, Kannu Madavi and Lalsu Kudyeti of Kasnasur in Bhamragad tehsil— were shot on January 21. The rebels believe these men had tipped off the police, leading to the ambush and killing of 40 Maoists on April 23 last year. On January 21, they also killed two other ‘police informers’. Two more tribal villagers were gunned down on February 2 at Markegaon, where the Maoists had killed 48 police personnel in three separate incidents in 2009.