Bhubaneswar, July 7: Maoists spilled blood yet again killing four persons including two policemen in separate incidents in Koraput and Rayagada districts today. Another person sustained serious injuries in the attack by the rebels.

Police said that a constable and a homeguard attached to the Machkund police station in Koraput district were gunned down by the Maoists while returning from the Ankadeli weekly market around 11 am. While the constable, Bala Dakri was shot from behind, the homeguard, Binod Hantal, received bullets in his stomach.

Panic gripped the area following the shooting and the bodies lay at the spot for several hours as no one dared go near them. It was much later that the BSF jawans deployed in the district on anti-Naxalite duty arrived at the spot and launched a hunt for the culprits.

Koraput SP, Anup Sahu said this was the first killing of policemen by the rebels this year. However, the district, a known Maoist stronghold, has seen around 25 policemen being killed by the rebels during the last four to five years.

In the second incident that took place at Karanjamandi village in Rayagada district in the wee hours, the Maoists killed two tribals, one of them the husband of a local sarpanch, with sharp weapons. Additional superintendent of police, Rayagada, P.K. Bhoi said that both the victims — Kailash Majhi, the husband of Gudbali sarpanch, and Sasi Majhi — were called out of their homes and hacked to death at an isolated spot.

“They belonged to different villages but were called to Karanjamandi which borders a forest and killed. The Maoists also attacked and injured a person called Seena Sahu who is believed to be under treatment,” added Bhoi.

The victims were targeted by the rebels on the suspicion of being police informers. They suspected them to have passed on information about nine Maoists who were killed in a police encounter, about 9km from Karanjamandi, last year.

Significantly, the killings come in the wake of kidnapping of five persons including a former rebel by the Maoists from Potteru village under MV-79 police station in Malkangiri district on Wednesday. Sources said while three of the abductees returned home today, a massive operation had been launched to trace the other two.

The Maoists, who killed 53 civilians and 22 policemen in the state last year, continue with their violent ways. This despite the fact that the government has launched as many as 214 special operations against them resulting in the death of 24 Maoists and arrest of 90. The security forces also seized 54 weapons during these operations.