Koraput: For unknown reasons, a truck was torched by a gang of around 10-15 armed unidentified miscreants at Tikarpada village near Bandhugaon police limits in Koraput district Saturday night.
The incident spread fear among the locals who suspected involvement of Maoists. Police registered a case and launched a probe. According to sources, around 10-15 men intercepted the truck at Tikarapada village when it arrived from Andhra Pradesh around 10:30pm Saturday night.
The gang overpowered the truck driver, Shankar of Andhra Pradesh, and beat him up. Later, they set the vehicle on fire and fled the scene. While initial suspicion centred on Maoists, word also spread that some past rivalry involving the contractor who engaged the truck for a construction work might be the reason.
“All the men were armed with sharp weapons. After intercepting the vehicle, they beat me up and torched the vehicle before fleeing,” driver Shankar said.