RAIPUR: Maoists have killed a Chhattisgarh BJP worker active in insurgency-hit Bijapur district of Bastar division, accusing him of being a police informer, who passed on inputs about cadres movement and updates to senior officials. The leaflet that Maoists left at the spot of crime, indicated that it was a target killing, which they planned out after they claimed to be a repeated warning to BJP worker, to stop supporting policeIdentified as Satyam Poonem, the BJP worker was a resident of Mujalkanker village under Illmidi police station limits of Bijapur district.Police said Satyam, who worked as a Mandal-level BJP functionary, was strangled to death with a rope by members of the Madded Area Committee of the outlawed Maoist organization. The attackers left behind a handwritten leaflet near the body, in which they claimed responsibility for the act and cited multiple “reasons” for the killing — including alleged police links. It said that the victim had been under Maoist watch for several months and was “warned multiple times” before being “eliminated” for continuing to cooperate with police forces.

According to police officials, around four to five Maoists in plain clothes arrived at Satyam’s house around midnight and took him outside before killing him. Police confirmed that a case was registered and that a team was immediately dispatched to the area. “The matter has been taken very seriously. Security forces have been sent to the site, and an intensive search operation is underway,” said Bijapur SP Jitendra Yadav.According to police records, around 40 people have been killed in Maoist-related violence so far this year, while 11 BJP leaders were murdered between January 2023 and December 2024 in separate incidents across the division, which includes Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kanker, Kondagaon, and Bastar districts.BJP worker on maoist hit listLocal sources said Satyam had been associated with local political and social activities in the Madded–Illmidi region — one of the most sensitive Maoist belts in South Bastar. Security officials said the killing reflects the Maoists’ desperation as the security grid tightens and more cadres surrender across Bastar. The rebels have resorted to targeting civilians, particularly villagers and political workers who are actively participating in development work. Maoists create terror among villagers and discourage cooperation with the administration.The killing of Poonam Satyam marks the latest in a series of politically targeted attacks in Bastar division.“The Maoists are trying to create fear among people, but the security forces are determined to continue their operations,” said a senior officer, adding that a massive combing operation has been launched in the Madded–Illmidi forest belt to trace the perpetrators.