A Maoist extremist was killed on Saturday (25 January) night in Janturai village of Odisha’s Malkangiri district by a crowd, after he attempted to force villagers to observe Republic Day as a ‘black day’, The Times of India reported.

It was the first incident of its type ever since the Left-wing extremism gripped the state in mid-90s.

A senior police official confirmed that the deceased was identified as Ganga Madhi, a Maoist with a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head. One more extremist was injured in the clashes between the locals and the Maoist group, that had come to the village asking people to observe India’s 71st Republic Day as a ‘black day’, the official added.

However, after the villagers refused to bend down to their threats and chased them out of of the village, the Maoists began blank firing terrorise and force upon the locals.

The villagers, as per the report, retaliated with their traditional weapons such as bows and arrows as well as pelted stones at the extremists, that led to the killing of one Maoist, while injuring another.

“Maoist killed by villagers carried Rs 1 lakh on his head. On getting information, security forces carried out a search operation and found that two Maoist cadres were lying unconscious with serious injuries,” Malkangiri SP R D Khilari said, adding “one of them was declared brought dead by doctors at a hospital”.

Madhi, who was a native of Malkangiri, was a member of fugitive outfit Communist Party of India (CPI) - Maoist. The other Maoist, who is currently in a hospital, was identified as Jipro hatrika and carried a reward of Rs 4 lakh on his head.

As the incident the villagers feared a revenge attack by the Left-wing militants, security forces, including BSF jawans were deployed in the village.