Raipur: Over 400 people were taken hostage by Maoists ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in Dantewada on Saturday. The incident took place near Jiram valley – around 60 km from the site where the Prime Minister will address a public meeting.

This was where in 2013, Maoists had massacred a convoy of Congress leaders.

Last night, around 11 pm, a group of Maoists came to Marenga village. They rounded up the villagers – barring senior citizens, women and children — and took them away, said the Station House Officer of Tongpal, Avinash.

The abduction was also meant to stop development work in the area, he said. The villagers were working as labourers for the construction of a bridge nearby. They had also skipped several meetings the Maoists had called in the area.   

“The Maoists have given a strong message,” said state Congress president Bhupesh Baghel. “The Congress is deeply concerned… We remember how a convoy of Congress officials was blown up.”

“This is a cowardly act. The government will never bow to Maoists,” Srichand Sundrani, BJP spokesperson in Chhattisgarh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Earlier, the Maoists had declared a boycott on the Prime Minister’s visit, exhorting villagers not to attend the meeting. 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.

Mr Modi is the first Prime Minister after Rajiv Gandhi to visit Dantewada to inaugurate development projects.

Today, he inaugurated two projects worth 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.