Two of the three residents of Talagolur village in Koraput district, Odisha, who were kidnapped by Maoists late on Saturday night have been murdered by the ultras.
The bodies were found early on Monday morning near the village. However, the third kidnapped man, the village head, has been freed.
According to official reports, 50-60 armed Maoists, including women, raided the village late on Saturday night and set a tractor and four motorcycles on fire before kidnapping the three villagers.
The tractor belonged to the local community and was being used by the villagers for agricultural purposes.
Police sources said the killing is related to an encounter in the district in March where two Maoists were eliminated.
The Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments had announced a cash reward for the two ultras.
A large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter spot. Maoists suspected that the two villagers had informed the police about their presence, which helped the latter to eliminate their cadres.
Confirming the murder, Inspector General of Police Jaswant Jathwa, in-charge of Maoist operations in the southern districts, said a combing operation has been launched in the area to nab the ultras.
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