A local BJD leader and businessman was gunned down by suspected Maoists in Rangangpur area of Odisha's Sundargarh district, police said today.
The bullet-riddled body of Hardeep Singh, a resident of Kansbahal who had been taken away from his house by some people last night, was found near Bilegarh this morning, sub-divisional police officer S Panigrahi said.
"His body was found lying near Bilegarh with gunshot marks," he said.
Besides, a hand written poster was found from the spot which claimed that People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI) was responsible for the killing, Panigrahi said.
While PLFI claims itself to be a Maoist outfit, police officers say it is actually a criminal group based in Gumla.
A few days ago, both the Rourkela and Sundergarh police in separate operations busted a major network of the organisation and arrested some of its major masterminds, including Arjun Thakur from Rourkela and Dhanjaya Bhuyan from Kuanrmunda.
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