Ranchi: The body of a 45-year-old man with his throat slit was found in a bush in Penk Narayanpur thana area of Bokaro district, 90km from the district headquarters and 190km from here, on Saturday.

Sources said Sonaram Soren's throat was cut with a sharp weapon and a Maoist pamphlet stating that he had to pay the price for being a police informer was found near him.

Police said the deceased was a resident of Beltharwa village in Bermo block. A police officer conducting the probe said although Sonaram was a Maoist once, he was neither a police informer nor a special police officer.

"How the Maoists suspected him to be a police informer is rather intriguing. He could have been killed by a criminal gang who left behind a Maoist pamphlet to mislead the police. We are carefully probing it from different angles," he added.

Bokaro SP Karthik S. said the case would be solved soon.

Gunned down

One Shambhu Yadav (30) was shot at in Balidih thana area in Bokaro district on Friday night. He was rushed to Bokaro General Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. In his dying declaration before the police, he is stated to have named two persons who had attacked him.