BJP leader, labourer killed by Maoists

RANCHI - Maoists shot dead a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and a Uranium Corp of India Ltd (UCIL) worker in Jharkhand, police Thursday said.

BJP’s Munna Gupta was gunned down in Latehar district late Wednesday by guerrillas from Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), one of six Maoist groups active in the state, police said.

The BJP leader was surrounded by 15-20 rebels, a few kilometres from the Balumath police station, when he was going to Balumath from Hehegara. He was killed and his supporters were beaten up.

TPC left behind pamphlets accusing the BJP leader of extorting money in the name of Maoists.

In another incident, Maoists killed Lakhai Soren, a labourer at the state-run UCIL, in Vikrampur village in East Singhbhum district Wednesday night. Soren was killed on charges of being a police informer.