Tribal forces killed three Maoists in the Visakhapatnam area of southeast India on Sunday. The killings were retaliation for the murder of one of their own by the communists.
Five Maoists kidnapped two men, Simhachalam and ex-Maoist Sanjeeva Rao. They then executed Rao, accusing him of being an informer, the Hindustan Times reports.
This incited the local populace, and around 400 tribesmen from the village of Balapam, where the murder took place, surrounded the Maoists and demanded an explanation for the murder, while simultaneously preventing them from killing Simhachalam, a local priest. The Maoists threatened the crowd with their guns, which led to the angry villagers attacking and killing three of the Maoists. The two remaining Maoists managed to escape.
The director-general of Police for the region, JV Ramadu, confirmed the details of the incident, saying that “The episode shows that there is no support among the people for the Maoists who keep them in control with their weapons.” He denied any police involvement in the killings.