The killing of Kallu Tati marks the ninth incident of its kind in the current year, coinciding with the reopening of schools in the region after an extended gap of nearly two decades. According to police reports released on Saturday, Naxalites targeted and murdered Tati, who was working as a shikshadoot—a temporary visiting teacher appointed in government schools—within Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. The tragedy unfolded when Tati, while making his way back from Lendra village school where he was employed, was abducted on Friday evening and later executed during the same night.
Authorities suggest that this crime fits into a recurring pattern of targeted assaults on shikshadoots in Bastar, a region where Naxalites frequently harbor suspicions that these teachers are acting as informants for the police. Police sources, while speaking to news agency PTI, emphasized that the extremist groups have consistently identified shikshadoots as potential threats, and this killing appears to be another outcome of such suspicions.
With Tati’s death, Bijapur alone has now seen five shikshadoots lose their lives this year, while Sukma district has reported four similar killings. This underscores the growing danger faced by educators attempting to restore normal schooling in conflict-affected zones. Security personnel have already been deployed to the site of the latest attack, though detailed information about the situation is still awaited.
The Bastar belt has been deeply scarred by repeated acts of violence against teachers in recent months. Earlier, on August 15, a shikshadoot was brutally murdered in Narayanpur, and less than two weeks later, on August 27, another teacher met the same fate in Sukma.
This unrelenting cycle of violence is not only claiming innocent lives but is also casting a long shadow over the education system in Bastar. Students, families, and communities remain caught in fear as schools attempt to reopen after decades of disruption. According to police data, Maoist violence in the seven districts of Bastar has already claimed the lives of over 30 individuals this year alone, further destabilizing the region and creating significant obstacles for its growth, peace, and development.
