Maoists blamed for killings of 2 political workers in eastern India

Dec 31, 2009, 11:48 GMT

New Delhi - Suspected Maoist rebels killed two workers of the ruling party in India's West Bengal state, a news report said Thursday.

The bodies of the two members of the Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPI-M), were found Thursday in a forested region in the West Midnapore district of the eastern state, the PTI news agency reported.

The CPI-M is the leading partner in the state's ruling coalition of left-wing parties.

The CPI-M workers were abducted Wednesday night and were later taken into the forest where they were shot dead, the report said.

Posters were left near the bodies, saying the two had been 'punished for being police informers.'

The district has been the scene of unrest since November 2008 after Maoists accusing the state government of ordering police atrocities on locals started attacking Communist politicians.

The agitation started after police raided the homes of people allegedly backing the Maoists shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya escaped a landmine blast blamed on the Maoists.

In June, government troops started an offensive after the Maoists and the tribal People's Committee against Police Atrocities, a Maoist ally, claimed to have 'liberated' Lalgarh, a main town in the district.

The Maoist rebels claim they are leading an armed rebellion to secure the rights of the poor and marginalized. They operate in some of India's poorest districts, especially forested land populated by tribal people that has seen little development.

More than 2,700 people - including civilians, security personnel and rebels - have been killed in incidents related to Maoist violence in India since 2006, according to the Home Ministry.