Maoists abduct 4 officials from Odisha, village head

SEELERU: CPI (Maoists) allegedly abducted five persons including four Odisha government officials from the cut-off area near Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district on Friday.
The neighbouring state is gearing up for their panchayat elections next month and the officials were at the local polling office discussing the same when the incident oc curred. The Naxalites have not yet claimed responsibility of the kidnap.
Sources said a group of Maoists abducted the five persons and produced them at a praja court at Similipodar village in the cut-off area. Security personnel have been pressed into action to save the abducted government officials, while family members of the officials appealed to the naxals to release their kin.
The five persons have been identified as poll officials Hrushikesh Naik and Purshottam Behra, junior engineers Praveen Soren and Kamini Kanth as well as Jodamba village head Lakshaman Sisa's son, sources said. Another officer Lingaraj Majhi managed to escape.
Maoists had faced a major setback due to the Ramaguda encounter in the cut-off area in October last year where 31 naxals and their sympathisers were killed, sources said.