Suspected Maoists guns contractor down

Suspected Maoists today shot dead a contractor in Bijepur police station area in Kalahandi district, the police said.
A group of armed men stormed into the workers' camp located near Pajibahali village and fired at contractor Siba Shankar Das (53) who had gone there to pay the staff members.
When he fell down, they slit his throat leaving him dead on the spot.
Maoists had earlier demanded ransom from Das, who was executing a road construction project from Bijepur to Pajibahali, the police said.
The contractor had been threatened and asked to stop work a few years ago when he was undertaking another project. Several earthmoving equipment were also torched at that time, the police said.