Police informer killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh
Jagdalpur: A police informer was hacked to death by Naxals in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, police said Sunday.
The incident occurred late Saturday night when the deceased, identified as Chhannu Sodhi (30), was on a visit to Bastanar weekly market under Kodenar police station area of the district, a local police official said.
Sodhi was attacked by a 'small action team' of Naxals (typically comprising four-five cadres) with axes, leaving him dead on the spot, he said.
Soon after being alerted, a police team was rushed to the spot and the body was brought for the post-mortem, the official said, adding that a search operation was launched in the area to trace the assailants.
Sodhi was working as 'gopaniya sainik' (secret police informer), who are appointed by district superintendent of police at local level for anti-Naxal operations, especially for gathering intelligence.
Mostly surrendered cadres work as police informers, but Sodhi had not been associated with the outlawed Maoists, the official added.
According to police, Sodhi was working in Katekalyan police station area of neighbouring Dantewada district and became a victim of a Maoist trap.
"Maoists had recently put up pamphlets in its Darbha division and other places and tried to lure their surrendered colleagues, who are now working as assistant police constables and informers, to return to their villages and stop helping security forces," Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava told PTI.
Maoists had claimed that those who return to their villages will be given lands and houses, a promise which was nothing but a ploy. Sodhi fell into this trap and returned to his village without informing police, he said.
"I had warned Sodhi and other assistant constables, mostly recruited in District Reserve Guard (DRG) - state's anti-Naxal force, and police informers that they should not get influenced by the Maoist conspiracy and should not return to their villages," Pallava added.
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Ensure paid holiday for postal staff on polling day in Kerala: John Brittas writes to Scindia
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas on Sunday wrote to Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking his urgent intervention to ensure that postal employees in Kerala are granted a statutory paid holiday on April 9 for the Assembly elections in the southern state.
In his letter, Brittas expressed serious concern over the Kerala Postal Circle’s instructions to treat all postal employees as “absentee voters in essential services (AVES)”, directing them to opt for a postal ballot within an “extremely limited” timeframe.
The Department of Posts operates under the Ministry of Communications. Along with the Department of Telecommunications, it is one of the two main sections within the ministry headed by Scindia.
In his letter, Brittas pointed out that the circular dated March 19 required the collection of Form 12D by March 20 (Eid al-Fitr), and submission of the compiled details at the respective collectorates by March 22 (Sunday), both holidays in Kerala, making meaningful compliance difficult and raising apprehensions about the “arbitrary” nature of the directions.
The CPI(M) leader also pointed out that the Election Commission, in a communication dated March 16, reiterated the requirement under Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that every person employed in any establishment and entitled to vote shall be granted a paid holiday on the polling day, without any deduction or abatement of wages.
He said even where certain services are treated as essential, the long-standing administrative practice has been to maintain only minimal required operations on polling day, without denying employees the opportunity to vote in person.
Brittas argued that in some other states going to polls this month, including Assam, most postal employees have been granted a holiday on polling day, in accordance with the statutory provisions.
During the 2021 Kerala polls, postal establishments had observed a holiday on polling day, subject only to limited essential arrangements, he claimed.
The present deviation, Brittas said, raises concerns about inconsistency in the application of law and the avoidable curtailment of the democratic rights of employees.
Stating that the right to vote lies at the core of India's democratic framework, Brittas urged Scindia to examine the matter urgently.
“Given the proximity of the polling date, I earnestly seek your kind indulgence to have the matter examined on priority, and to issue urgent directions to the postal authorities in Kerala to ensure that the statutory entitlement of postal employees in Kerala to a paid holiday on the day of polling is duly ensured,” Brittas said in the letter.
The 140 seats in the Kerala Assembly will go to polls on April 9, and the results will be out on May 4.
