Beltangady: Naxals target gram panchayat member, set fire to property

Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady

Beltangady, Nov 9: Once again, Naxals have made their presence felt in the coastal districts, though after a long gap. A group of 10 to 20 armed Naxals reportedly visited Kutlur gram panchayat member Ramachandra Bhat’s house in Beltangady, Naravi in the early hours of Saturday November 9 and left a trail of damage.

At around 2 am, Naxals knocked on the door of Ramachandra's house, but he refused to open. Angered by this, the Naxals set fire to the bike and car parked outside the house and also the shed, it is learnt.
 
Ramachandra Bhat is a member of the local gram panchayat and people identify him with MLA Vasanth Bangera.
 
Bhat, who has been running an NGO from the past few years, has been engaged in the task of rehabilitating people living in forest areas as per government orders. With the relief package from the government, he was personally helping people living in forest areas to come into the mainstream by rehabilitating them. It is for this reason that he became the target of Naxals, it is speculated.
 
In the wake of the Naxal attack, IGP Pratap Reddy, SP Shantanu Sinha along with other senior officials visited the spot.
 
The Anti-Naxal Force has started its combing operation in Kutlur forest area following the incident.