india

Updated: Jul 28, 2018 17:52 IST

A tribal was allegedly killed by Maoists on suspicion of being a police informer near the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border on Saturday morning.

The incident took place at the Chukka Goyyi tribal hamlet located in the forested areas of Visakhapatnam’s Gudem Kotha Veedhi block. Police said the rebels had warned the victim – identified as Jayaram alias Saloo (30) – against tipping off security forces regarding their whereabouts on a couple of occasions in the past.

This incident comes in the run-up to the Martyrs’ Week declared by Maoists to commemorate leaders and cadres killed in past police encounters.

Martyrs’ Week starts on July 28 because it was on this day that the group’s founder, Charu Mazumdar, died about 46 years ago. It will go on till August 3.

Telangana and Andhra police have consequently beefed up security along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh-Odisha borders. State transport corporations have halted bus services to interior villages for the duration to ensure that they don’t become soft targets for the rebels. Local public representatives have also been asked to exercise caution.

Bhadrachalam assistant superintendent of police Sangram Singh Patil said local police and special forces are conducting intense combing operations in border areas. “We have taken every precaution to prevent violent incidents,” he said.