Two villagers killed by Naxals in Maharashtra

Naxals allegedly killed two persons at a village in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, police said on Monday.

The incident took place in Puraslagondhi village of Gadchiroli, located around 170 km from here, on Sunday night, a police official said.

According to preliminary information, the victims - Maaso Pungati (55) and Rishi Meshram (52) - worked in Gadchiroli's Surajgadh mines which the Naxals disapproved of, and hence the ultras killed them, he said.

The Gadchiroli police in a release said Pungati was a "Naxal sympathizer" and not a 'police patil', as claimed in a section of media.

The duties of a police patil include reporting a crime in the village to the police station and is governed by the Maharashtra Village Police Act.