JOIN USMaoists operating in Nuapara district in western Odisha shot dead a woman health worker suspecting her to be a special police officer (SPO).
Twenty-two-year-old Rita Das, who was working as a class four employee at a primary health centre in Sunabeda, was kidnapped by the armed Maoists five days ago, police said.
The woman’s body with bullet wounds was found near a weekly market at a village on Saturday.
Claiming the responsibility for the young health worker’s killing, the Maoists said they eliminated her as she was informing the police about their activities.
However, her parents said they were not aware of their daughter joining hands with the police.
The red rebels have released Manoj Sahu, who was also kidnapped by the Maoists along with Rita. The Maoists convened a “praja (people’s) court” and released the youth in the presence of villagers and local mediapersons after his parents pleaded the rebels to release their son.
After his release, Sahu admitted he was working as a special police officer but had left the job a few days ago as he did not receive payment from the police. He was recruited with a promise that he would be paid Rs 2,000 every month by the Maoists.
The Maoists in Nuapara district, which borders Chhattisgarh, have killed 14 villagers in the last two years suspecting them to be special police officers.