Published On : Sat, May 9th, 2015

Maoists kidnap 300 villagers to prevent them from attending Modi’s sabha in Dantewada

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Prime Minister Modi is in Chattisgarh tribal area of Dantewada today to inaugurate two projects vital for the development of the area. But Naxalites are not happy about this visit.

“We will not be scared by such threats and will work tirelessly for your development” said Modi adressing the people who had gathered for his program nevertheless.

Around 300 people on way to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meeting in Dantewada have been taken hostage by Maoists, police sources confirmed to media. But officially, the police denied that the abduction was related to the Prime Minister’s visit. One source is also saying that ” just 4 – 5 villagers have been held captive; the others have gone to negotiate”.

The incident took place in Tongpal near Jiram Valley, where Maoists had massacred a group of Congress leaders in 2013.

Maoists had declared a boycott on the Prime Minister’s visit, exhorting villagers not to attend the public meeting. They are supposed to be unhappy about a bridge that is proposed to be built in this area.

On Friday, they chopped a tree and used it to block a road, put up posters registering their protest, and hung effigies of Mr Modi and Chief Minister Raman Singh. It has been confimed that  among people ‘kidnapped’ are  laborers who were employed in the construction of a nearby bridge.

SRP Kalluri, Inspector General of  Bastar Range, said the Maoists had abducted half-a-dozen laborers from a village, Marenga, in Sukma district yesterday in a bid to stop to development work in the area.

The villagers had gone to negotiate their release and were subsequently taken hostage.

Mr Modi is the first Prime Minister after Rajiv Gandhi to visit Dantewada to inaugurate development projects. He is to inaugurate two projects worth a total of Rs. 24,000 crore – a steel plant in Dantewada’s Dilmili village and the second phase of a 140 km railway line from Raoghat to Jagdalpur.

While in the Dantewada area Modi also  addressed students at the Education City in Jawanga. He exhorted the students to not dream of becoming Doctors and Engineers but to dream of working in these roles.

“When you devote your life to helping others, it becomes meaningful and one can work for long hours tirelessly” Modi advised students.