Chg ultras disrupt culvert construction;kill 1, torch vehicles

Naxals today disrupted the construction work for a culvert near a CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, located around 450 kms away from here, and killed a private firm employee, police said.

The ultras also allegedly torched four vehicles and machines engaged in construction work at around 12 noon near Chinnakodepal camp of the CRPF under Modakpal police station limits where construction of a culvert was underway, a local police official told PTI.

A group of armed Maoists arrived at the construction site, located around one km away from the paramilitary camp, and forced the labourers to stop the work, he said.

They set ablaze two mixture machine, one truck and an SUV before killing Batoi Pal (42), a construction employee with sharp edged weapons, he said.

"Pal's body was found near the construction site in the forest," he said, adding that the deceased hailed from Bijapur.

After receiving information about the incident, security forces rushed to the spot, the official said, adding that Pal's body was being brought to Bijapur for autopsy.

A search operation has been launched to trace the ultras, he said.

The official said naxals are frustrated since their comrades were killed in a string of encounters with security forces in Bijapur and other parts of the state in recent past, besides in Gadchiroli in neighbouring Maharashtra and in Malkangiri in Odisha.

They have intensified their attacks on construction works, particularly road construction, in Bastar region out of this frustration, he said.

In a similar incident on March 19 this year, naxals allegedly killed a road construction contractor and burnt down four machines engaged in road constructionwork between Tumnar and Koitpal villagesinBijapur district.