New Delhi: A day after purportedly celebrating Independence Day on 15 August, a tribal from a remote village in Chhattisgarh was allegedly killed by suspected Maoists, who accused him of being a police informer.
A video shows the victim, Manish Nureti from Binagunda village in Kanker district, hoisting the tricolour atop a structure resembling memorials built by Maoists. Nureti can be seen in the video surrounded by other locals, while tribal children can be heard singing the national anthem.
Police sources said inputs suggested Maoist cadres killed Manish during a public hearing called a ‘Jan Adalat’. A day after the killing, a local formation of Maoists reportedly left a banner claiming responsibility for Manish’s death, labelling him as an informer who allegedly collaborated with the Deserve Reserve Guards.
Binagunda lies deep inside the Abujmarh forest, considered the last bastion of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its armed wings, who have been fighting the government for decades, claiming to champion tribal rights.
Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj Pattilingam confirmed the killing to ThePrint.
“We have received information about the killing of Manish Nureti, a resident of Binagunda village under Chhottebetiya Police Station in Kanker District, by Maoists. A short video has also surfaced in which Manish Nureti is purportedly seen participating in Independence Day celebrations on 15th August,” Sundarraj Pattilingam told ThePrint.
“Further information is being collected, and appropriate action will be taken after due verification of facts and details,” he added.
However, Chhattisgarh Police have not been able to retrieve Manish’s body a week after his suspected brutal murder in public view by Maoists because of bad weather.
“Due to persistent rain and the ongoing monsoon session, the Kotri river is overflowing, denying any opportunity to cross the river and enter the side of these villages. The body has not been retrieved, and it is suspected his last rites may well have been conducted by the villagers, who are fearful to come out in the open,” a Chhattisgarh Police official told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
Binagunda and other neighbouring villages, located deep inside the Abujmarh forest and separated from the plain areas of Kanker district by the Kotri River, have served as a stronghold for the Maoists for decades.
However, security forces have breached this terrain in the last few years and killed 29 Maoist cadres last year in an encounter in the same area.
ThePrint reported from these villages in April last year on the encounter and how local tribals get caught in crossfire between forces and Maoists.
The reach of security forces during the monsoon is often limited, particularly in areas dominated by Maoists, which are located deep within the forests, separated by rivers such as the Indravati in South Bastar and the Kotri in the North Bastar region.
After chairing a review meeting on Left Wing Extremism this year in Raipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed confidence that forces would not be hindered by persistent rainfall and overflowing water bodies.
He said security forces would not halt their operations even during the monsoon session and work to achieve the goal of eradicating Maoists from the country by March 2026.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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