A tribal youth was killed allegedly by Naxals when he refused to join their movement in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said today.

Devendra Modem, 20, was brutally beaten and then axed to death by rebels at his native place Baiguda under Awapalli police station limits last night, Bijapur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sukhnandan Rathore said.

About 20-25 rebels stormed Devendra's house in Baiguda village, located around 450 kms away from the state capital, last evening.

They demanded from the victim's family members that either Devendra or his brother join the movement.

When the family refused to give in to their demand, the Naxals forcibly took Devendra out of his home and started thrashing him.

Even after being beaten up when when the victim remained firm on his stand of not joining the outlawed outfit, the rebels axed him to death, the DSP said.

Security forces were rushed to the spot after being informed about the incident by the villagers, he said, adding that the body was brought to Awapalli for postmortem.

Security personnel have launched a search in the region to nab the assailants, he said.