Maoists along the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) killed a 29-year-old man on Monday, suspecting him to be a 'police informer', the AP police said.
The man, identified as Gampa Srinu, was reported to be a non-tribal businessman from Annavaram village in G Madugula mandal in the Visakhapatnam Agency area.
The Times of India reported that Srinu went to Korukonda tribal market, where he ran a small business, and was abducted by members of the Korukonda Area Committee, as he was returning home.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Chintappale P Anil told mediapersons that the murder occurred in an interior part of the Agency area, which is a Maoist hotbed, adding, “The body is expected to be brought to Chintapalle by Monday evening for a postmortem examination."
The Hindu reported that the Maoists left behind a poster that blamed Srinu for the exchange of fire in Luvasingi in 2012, where two Maoists were shot down. They alleged that Srinu had tipped off the police, on their whereabouts.
Just earlier this week, armed members of the CPI (Maoist) set fire to a BSNL cell tower near Darakonda village in Visakhapatnam Agency area.
According to reports, around 15 to 20 armed cadre of Galikonda Area Committee, believed to led by a commander Naveen, went to the BSNL tower and set fire to it, with the help of some discarded tires.
The arson was seemingly a clear message from the banned outfit, that it still enjoys power in the two Telugu states, as it had come two days after a high-level meeting between the DGPs of four Maoist-affected states, along with counter insurgency officials was held in Visakhapatnam.
Some handwritten posters were also left at the spot, which asked local TDP and BJP leaders to clearly spell out their stand on bauxite mining.