13 abducted villagers killed in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: Naxalites on Saturday killed 13 of the 52 villagers they had abducted last Tuesday and released 37 others in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

"We have recovered 13 bodies from near the Manikonta village of Erroabore police station, about 550 kms from the state capital," Dornapal police station sources told PTI by phone.

The outlawed Maoists had killed two persons on Friday, they said, adding 37 villagers who were kidnapped were released.

"The released villagers are in a state of shock and are not (not) able to tell where they were and how they were treated," the sources said.

Senior officials have rushed to the spot as Chief Minister Raman Singh and many of his Ministers and top officials are in district headquarters in Dantewada in
connection with a meeting of Bastar development authority.

About 60 villagers, who are staying in Dornapal relief camps, had gone to their Manikonta village to look after their belongings on April 25.

The Maoists, who were present in the village, surrounded them and assaulted them, police said.

About three men and five women escaped and ran to nearby jungles and reached Dornapal relief camp and then informed the police.

These villagers were staying in government relief camps after naxal threat and were participating in peace campaign against the Maoists in Dantewada and Bijapur districts.