Behrampore, July 6: Suspected Maoists have carried out possibly their first strike in Murshidabad, killing two villagers today and leaving behind posters saying the duo were bumped off because they were “police informers”.

A police officer confirmed the murders in Naoda’s Dudhsar village were the first by the rebels in the district. “This is the first strike where Maoists claimed to have killed people and left posters behind,” said the officer.

Preliminary probe showed the murders of Mohar Ali, 50, and Saidul Sheikh, 45, were connected to the arrest of a youth suspected of having Maoist links from the village two weeks ago, district police superintendent B.L. Meena said.

“Preliminary investigations have revealed the duo were killed by Maoists,” Meena added.

Officer-in-charge of Naoda police station Mohaimenul Haque said Khalek Sheikhalias Mithun, 20, was “a Maoist activist”.

“After arresting him from Dudhsar village, we recovered Maoist literature and some letters written by some of his comrades,” the officer said. Khalek is now lodged in the Behrampore Central Jail.

So far, Maoists have struck mostly in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia where central forces have been deployed to tackle the rebels. But in September last year, the Trinamul Congress pradhan of Sonachura panchayat in East Midnapore’s Nandigram was shot dead. The Maoists had claimed responsibility for the murder.

According to intelligence officials, the rebels are not known to have a strong base in Murshidabad but have been trying to gain a foothold. “Maoists have been trying to expand their base there for sometime. We must not forget Murshidabad shares borders with Nadia and Birbhum where there are Maoist pockets,” one official said.

In today’s incident, the bodies of Mohar and Saidul were found in a jute field. Mohar had bullet wounds in the chest. Saidul had injuries in the chest and abdomen, suggesting he had been shot twice. The duo had been hired by villagers to guard the jute crop.

Farmer Saiful Biswas, 35, heard three shots being fired around 10am from a field around 500 metres away from his plot.

“I ran in the direction from where the shots were fired. I saw many other villagers running too. We found Mohar and Saidul lying still on the ground,” Saiful said.

According to another officer, some of the farmers saw six men walking towards Sonatikri village, which lies to the south of Dudhsar, after the attack.

In March 2008, Swapan Sutradhar, said to be a “known Maoist” and wanted in at least five cases including murder, was held from the same Murshidabad pocket.

Sutradhar was leading a group of four which had opened fire when chased by village volunteers on night patrol, injuring three of those in pursuit.

Neighbouring Nadia has, however, seen more attacks by Maoists and rebel arrests over the past five years.

In October 2005, Maoists had shot dead a CPM branch committee member, Abdul Latif Mondal in his house at Fasilnagar village in Nadia’s Thanerpara, about 10km from where the Maoists struck in Murshidabad today.