Hyderabad: Three Maoists were killed allegedly by a group of tribals in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district after a villager was shot dead by the ultras, police said Monday.
According to preliminary reports, four Maoists went into the interior forest area of Chintapalli mandal in Visakhapatnam last evening and abducted two persons, including a local priest. The Maoists later killed one of them branding him as a "police informer", a senior police officer said.
When the Maoists attempted to kill the priest, a group of 400 to 500 villagers tried to stop them and later attacked the ultras, resulting in the death of three of them even as another Maoist escaped, he said.
Senior police officers, including Visakhapatnam District Superintendent of Police K Pravin, rushed to the site and more forces were being mobilised, he said.
"The villager who was shot dead was not a police informer as was being accused. The identity of the deceased Maoists was yet to be ascertained.
"There are reports that three weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, was found at the spot which is subject to verification," the police officer said adding further details were awaited.
