Armed Maoists allegedly killed a man in Tuti Jharna village under Gomia police station limits on Friday morning, allegedly to strike fear in a contractor who is building a road there.

The deceased, 60-year-old Ramesh Manjhi, is related to a contractor who bagged a tender to build a road from Pindra to Tuti Jharna under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, said Bermo ASP Anjani Anjan.

Sources said armed Maoists barged into the village around 11.30pm on Thursday. They took out diesel from an earthmover of the road contractor and set it on fire. They also torched a tractor and bike near the contractor’s camp and thrashed labourers. Finally, they dragged Manjhi out of the camp and shot him dead.

Before fleeing, the Maoists left posters that stated their displeasure over the construction of the road and ordered the firm to stop the work.

The posters said that the state government was constructing the road to pave way to loot minerals from the area. Going by the posters, the violence seems to be the handiwork of the so-called divisional committee of the outlawed CPI(Maoist) rebels.

Bokaro superintendent of police P. Murugan said the police were combing the area. “There is a possibility that the Maoists planted explosives to ambush the police so we are being cautious,” he said. He added that the CRPF and police were intensifying combing operations along the Gomia-Jageshwar-Bihar border.

When the report was filed on Friday evening, Manjhi’s kin had arrived at Gomia police station, waiting to receive his body after post-mortem.