Overview

• Devendra Yadav, 25, was seized on September 16 near Chauria in the Lanji area while tending cattle, and his body was recovered in a nearby forest on September 18.
• Police said a red banner and two pamphlets at the spot claimed the killing for the Malajkhand dalam of the Maoists’ Gondia–Rajnandgaon–Balaghat division.
• Officials denied Yadav was an informer, saying he delivered milk products to local areas, including some police checkposts.
• An FIR for murder has been registered, a post-mortem is underway, and search parties have been deployed to trace the suspects.
• Materials left at the scene also alleged police were turning youths into informers and, according to local reports, opposed special recruitment drives; a Hawk Force commander said this is the first such incident in the district since 2023.