The leaders of the outlawed CPI Maoist group were perpetrating atrocities in an attempt to make their presence known, according to a statement released by District SP Rohith Raju on Sunday. They were terrorizing innocent indigenous people in agency regions, he said. By placing explosives in the areas where the tribespeople often traverse to make a livelihood, they were causing them damage.

Three days ago, Kunjam Pandey and his sister were returning from the Utlapalli forest region in Rampur village, which is located inside the boundaries of the Ussur police station in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. When a landmine set by the outlawed CPI Maoists exploded, she suffered severe injuries. Pandey’s right leg was gone. The Charla police transported him to the Bhadrachalam Area Hospital after receiving the information, and they also sent his sister there for medical care.

The incident was sharply denounced by the SP. According to him, the Maoists were using these kinds of terror methods because they thought they wouldn’t be able to exist if the agency area expanded. The SP said that the Maoists were engaging in anti-development actions as the police department worked to provide the residents of the agency area with amenities including transportation, healthcare, and education.