Family members of a 38-year-old man killed in an anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh Bijapur at the beginning of this month claimed he was not a Maoist. | Photo Credit: Neither
Family members of a 38-year-old man killed in an anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh Bijapur at the beginning of this month claimed he was not a Maoist. Family and other inhabitants in the village of Irpagutta say Mahesh Kudiyam has worked as a cook in a government school for more than a year. Police said that Kudiyam was Naxalite with a reward of 1 Lakh.
Kudiyam was one of the seven alleged Maoists killed by security forces in the Indravati National Park in Bijapur in an operation in which Sudhakar aka Gautam and Telangana Bhaskar were among the killed CPI (CCM) Sudhakar.
The operation lasted several days and several meetings were reported on June 5, 6 and 7 June 10, and the police issued a press release stating that one of the killed men was identified as Mahesh Kudiyam. They described it as a member of the party from the Maoists Committee from the National Park, which had a reward of 1 lakh when arresting.
Bastar Talkies, however, with a channel on YouTube based on Bastar, Kudiyam’s wife and brothers said a man was not a Maoist. Irma Vela, a local resident, said the canal that Kudiyam was just a cook and Peon in a village government.
According to one of the brothers Kudiyam, the man fired on the day of the meeting. The family also shared images of a bank deposit showing alleged transactions documenting Kudiyam, which received his reward from the government.
Kudiyam’s wife Sumitra expressed concern about the education of seven children by the couple alone with her husband, the only breadwinner, now dead.
Response
While the police acknowledged that Kudiyam had worked as a government of a government school, they claimed to be a Maoist.
An official statement issued by the General Police Inspector for the Bastar, Sundarraj P, reads: “During the proceedings, it was confirmed that Mahesh Kodiyam was a member of the prohibited CPI (Maoist) organization that was in the National Park Division as part of the Group’s released group.
The recruitment of Kudiyam as a government chef, despite his alleged connection with the forbidden clothing, collector Bastar Sambit Misra told the Hindes that such appointments are performed by ad-hoc and this process is decentralized. “They are hired by school management committees and there is no police verification. In this case, we asked the Block Education Officer for a report,” he said.
Published – June 22, 2025 17:49
