Bhubaneswar: A group of suspected Maoists on Friday morning killed a super class contractor in Kalahandi district when he was supervising work at a site.

The deceased has been identified as Shiba Shankar Dash, alias Tunu Dash. He was in his 50s.

Police sources said Dash had gone to the site near Paji Bahali in Bijepur police limits in the tribal-dominated district to supervise work and distribute wages to the labourers. He was executing a road construction project from Bijepur to Pajibahali.

He was taking rest at the temporary camp built near construction site when seven motorcycle-borne goons reportedly raising 'Maoist zindabaad' slogans fired at him and slit his throat. Dash died on the spot.

The labourers fled from the spot after the incident. Police are trying to ascertain what prompted the assailants to target Dash.

"Maoists never target a contractor without giving a warning. There must have been some issue. We have also to prove whether it's a Maoist act or someone else in the grab of Maoists," said a police official, adding that the rebels had earlier threatened contractors not to take up construction works.

Officials said when a contractor did not listen to them, they sometimes torched their earthmoving equipment. Though the police have launched a manhunt to arrest the accused, it has not been so far successful.

Maoists of the Kashipur-Niyamgiri division tried to make their presence felt in the district to oppose those supporting the Vedanta Alumina Limited at Lanjigarh and supporting the handing over of Niyamgiri hill for extraction of bauxite.

In 2011, Maoists had killed a young contractor of Trilochanpur village here and had claimed responsibility for the murder through a poster in which they mentioned that whosoever supports the cause of Vedanta would face similar consequences.

Though the police continued to maintain that the Maoists have been on a back foot after the Special Operations Group carried out combing operations, they have been able to make their presence felt once in a while.

New VC

Atal Chaudhuri joined as the vice-chancellor of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla, on Friday. Chaudhuri was serving as the professor and head of the department of computer science & engineering of Jadavpur University in Calcutta.

Chaudhuri has a masters degree in engineering from the Jadavpur University and later did PhD in engineering from the same university.

He has 32 years of teaching experience and he has served more than twenty years as a professor.