Five naxals who carried bounty ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh on their heads were killed by their colleagues in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.
This attack by their own happened over the last two weeks, police said on Tuesday (October 6).
According to the police, the killing happened due to disagreements that led to the fallout within the outlawed CPI (Maoist).
There had been murders of civilians by some Naxals in south Bastar and a top Naxal leader Modiyam Vijja had been gunned down by his juniors.
“We have got information about the killing of five more naxals by their own outfit members in Bijapur,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
The murdered naxals have been identified as Sandip alias Budhram, janmilitia platoon section commander, Lakhu Hemla, Maoists jantana school in-charge, Santosh, head of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangthan, Dasru Mandavi, head of Janatana Sarkar group and Kamlu Punem, militia platoon commander, he said.
“Police had been receiving information about differences between senior and lower-rung cadres with regard to the brutal approach adopted by top ultras towards local villagers for a couple of months. The recent killings of villagers by Naxals in Bijapur after branding them as police informers further escalated the tension,” the IG said.
As per the police there is now an eruption of a gang war between different groups within the banned outfit. As of now the police are keeping a close eye on the situation with regards to the growing divide within the Maoist organisation.