Maoists killed eight men belonging to the upper castes in Vempenta village in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh early on Tuesday.

According to the police, the Maoists came to the village on Monday night and took away 50 people to a forest nearby on the pretext of talking to them.

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After the discussions, the commander of the Maoists arrived, called for eight of the hostages, and shot them dead. The others were let off on Tuesday morning with a warning.

The hands and legs of two victims were chopped off.

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In 1998, the Maoists killed the village head, also an upper caste man.

In the same year, supporters of the slain sarpanch killed nine supporters of the Maoist People's War group in the village. The victims were Dalits.