Cop hacked to death by suspected Naxalites in Chhattisgarh

A policeman was hacked to death by suspected Naxalites at a village in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Monday.

The incident took place late Sunday night when the victim, head constable Maniram Vetti, had gone to attend a wedding in Belchar village under Bhairamgarh police station limits adjoining Dantewada district, a senior official said. Vetti, who was posted at the police lines in Dantewada, was on leave for the last four days and went to attend the marriage function in the village located in the Naxal-stronghold without informing anyone, he said. As per preliminary information, when the victim was busy at the function with family members, the assailants stormed there and slit his throat with a sharp-edged weapon leaving him dead on the spot, the official said.

Soon after being alerted, a police team rushed to the spot, he said. “Prima facie, the modus operandi of the attack suggests it was executed by a small action team of Naxalites. A police team has launched a search in the area to trace the assailants,” the official added.