Naxalites strangled BJP worker Satyam Punem in Bijapur over alleged police links.
Madded area committee of the Maoists issued pamphlet claiming Punem acted as a police informer despite warnings.
Bastar division has seen nearly 40 Maoist-related deaths this year alone.
A worker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Satyam Punem was killed by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Monday night, officials said, in what authorities described as a targeted attack over suspected links with the police.
Who was Satyam Punem?
Satyam Punem was a resident of Mujalkanker, a village under the Ilmidi police station limits in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. He was associated with the BJP and worked as a local party worker. Punem was reportedly active in his community and had interactions with local authorities as part of his political engagement. According to PTI, he was suspected by Naxalites of acting as an informer for the police, a serious allegation in the Bastar division where Maoists maintain strict control.
What happened to Satyam Punem?
On the night of October 13, 2025, Satyam Punem was strangled to death by Naxalites in Mujalkanker, Chhattisgarh. A handwritten pamphlet recovered at the site, attributed to the Madded area committee of Maoists, claimed that Punem had continued to assist authorities despite three warnings, according to PTI. Police immediately dispatched a team to the location after being alerted.
This incident adds to the ongoing Maoist violence in Bastar division, which comprises seven districts including Bijapur. Nearly 40 people have lost their lives in separate Maoist attacks in the division so far this year, and earlier, 11 BJP leaders and workers were killed between January 2023 and December 2024, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI)
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