Woman village chief killed by Maoists in Jharkhand

A woman chief of a panchayat in Jharkhand's Gumla district was Saturday shot and stabbed to death by Maoist guerrillas, police said.

Safia Devi, chief of the Pibo Gram Panchayat, around 130 km from Ranchi, was first shot at by the Maoists. After shooting her, they stabbed her with sharp-edged weapons.

Safia Devi had been protesting against Maoist activities for a long time. Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 24 districts of the state.