Maoists kill road contractor, injure villager in Odisha

Armed Maoists killed a road contractor and injured a villager in a remote village of Odisha

The incident took place on Monday night in Balipeta village in the Narayanpatna block in Odisha's Koraput District. Two villagers were attacked for allegedly being police informers.

The body of the road contractor was found on Tuesday. The injured person was found with his throat slit and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The Maoists also left a warning letter to the villagers.

The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless, control some of India's mineral-rich areas and operate in large swathes of the eastern, central and southern countryside.

The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have killed police and politicians, and targeted government buildings and railway tracks in an insurgency that has killed thousands since the 1960s.

The rebels are estimated to number 7000 hardcore fighters in nearly a third of India's 630 districts.