Maoists kill deputy sarpanch in Chhattisgarh's Sukma; 9th civilian murder in Bastar this year
NEW DELHI: Maoist killed the deputy sarpanch of a village panchayat in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Monday, police said, marking the ninth such civilian killing by Maoists in the Bastar region this year.
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The incident took place around 3 pm in Benpalli village under Jagargunda police station limits, where a group of armed Maoist reportedly asked Muchaki Rama, the deputy sarpanch of Tarlaguda village panchayat, to step out of his house and took him away.
'His body was later found and the police were alerted. The body was sent for post-mortem,' an official said on Tuesday.
With this killing, the number of civilians killed by Maoist in the Bastar division — comprising seven districts including Sukma — has risen to nine in 2025 so far.
Last year, 68 civilians were killed in separate Naxal-related incidents in the region, according to police data.
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