Bhubaneswar: Security has been beefed up along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border to ward off possible infiltration by Maoists from the neighbouring state.

Sources said the rebels from Chhattisgarh were trying to enter Malkangiri and Koraput with security forces turning the heat on them there. "Their entry into these areas can result in an increase in the rebel activities in our state, which we are keen to avoid," said a police officer.

The Maoists have stepped up their activities in Malkangiri and Koraput, targeting police informers in particular. The body of their latest victim, Sudhakonda villager Ganga Madkami, 35, was recovered early on Thursday morning from the village outskirts.

Sources said a group of rebels reached Madkami's house around Wednesday midnight and took him out forcibly. They gave him a sound thrashing before taking him with them to the nearby forest. Villagers found his body in the morning.

Maoists left behind posters dubbing him as an informer and accusing him of inciting fellow villagers against them.

"Madkami was working as an agent of the police and used to motivate the villagers against us. Hence, he was punished. Anyone, who will work as police informer, will meet the similar fate," reads one of the Maoist posters recovered from the spot.

The police, however, refuted the rebels' allegations. "The deceased was not our informer. We have initiated an investigation and the reason behind the attack will be known after that," said Malkangiri police superintendent Jagmohan Meena.

Rayagada additional superintendent of police Jagannath Rao, who had earlier served in Koraput, admitted that Malkangiri and Koraput were key districts so far the state's anti-Maoist operations were concerned given their proximity to Chhattisgarh.

Additional reporting by Priyadarshini Patnaik from Malkangiri-Koraput