Bijapur: Suspected Maoists targeted a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) panchayat member in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, resulting in a fatal attack during a wedding event. Tirupati Katla, a BJP Janpad panchayat member, faced a gruesome assault around 8 pm in Toyanar village, where he was attending the ceremony, according to Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Yadav.
The assailants, wielding a sharp weapon, attacked Katla immediately after he left the wedding function. Despite being rushed to the district hospital, Katla succumbed to his injuries, marking another tragic incident in Maoist-affected regions of Chhattisgarh.
As authorities intensify search operations to identify the attackers, concerns rise over the safety of political figures in Maoist-hit areas. Over the past year, Chhattisgarh has witnessed the targeted killings of seven BJP leaders, highlighting the persistent threat posed by Maoist insurgency.
The wave of violence includes the murder of Ratan Dubey, the BJP’s Narayanpur district unit vice president, who was hacked to death during a campaign in November. In October of the same year, Birju Taram, a BJP worker, fell victim to a fatal shooting in Sarkheda village. The trend continued with the killing of a local BJP leader in Bijapur district in June, and in February of the previous year, three BJP leaders were brutally hacked to death, allegedly by Maoists, in the Bastar division.
The recent attack on Tirupati Katla underscores the precarious security situation in the region, where political workers face heightened risks. Authorities are grappling with the challenge of ensuring the safety of political figures and combating Maoist insurgency in a bid to restore stability and peace to these vulnerable areas.
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