Koraput: Claiming that the two persons killed in police encounter in a forest in Odisha last week had no links with Left Wing Extremism (LWE), Maoists on Monday called for a bandh in Koraput and Malkangiri districts on November 18.
They claimed that the killing of the two took place in a ‘fake encounter’ in Malipadar forest under Boipariguda block of Koraput district and the deceased were in no way related to Maoists.
The two – Dhana Kamar of Sargiguda village in Malkangiri and Jaya Kumar Nag of Nuagada village under Kosagumuda police limits in Nabarangpur district were labourers, said a press statement and an audio message purportedly released by the Malkangiri-Koraput Border Division of Maoists.
The Maoists have called for a bandh in Malkangiri and Koraput districts on November 18 to protest the alleged fake encounter and sought a judicial probe into the incident.
Earlier, a large number of villagers, including the family members of Kamar, staged a road blockade on NH-326 near Kotameta demanding a compensation of Rs 30 lakh to his family.
They claimed that Kamar was a labourer and he was proceeding to Kotpad through Malipadar forests when police force killed him by branding him as a Maoist.
Vehicular movement was disrupted on the highway between Malkangiri and Jeypore and normal traffic was restored after police detained several protesters.