From correspondents in Chhattisgarh, India, 09:31 PM IST

Maoist guerrillas killed two tribals, employed as special police officers (SPOs) by the government, in the southern region of Chhattisgarh, the police said Wednesday.

'Two bodies were found at a roadside in a forested stretch in Narayanpur district Wednesday morning. Maoists probably killed them overnight and dumped their bodies early morning,' Pawan Deo, deputy inspector general of Kanker range, told IANS by phone.

He said the SPOs, both in their mid-twenties, were found with their throats slit.

The Chhattisgarh government has recruited nearly 4,500 youths in the Bastar region as SPOs at a monthly remuneration of Rs.1,500 to team up with the police and para-military troopers to fight the Maoists.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)