New Delhi, Oct. 31 Maoists have killed three persons of the same family for money in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, police have said.

A group of almost 60 Maoists barged in to the house of three brothers, Jai, Tileshwar and Lachinder at Kidrepal village in the early hours on Thursday and brutally killed them with sharp weapons, according to the police.

The deceased included a teacher and a village secretary, a delayed report said.

According to sources, the three brothers had failed to pay hundred thousand rupees of extortion money demanded by Maoists, which resulted in their brutal murder.

"They had come on October 20 and they left a letter demanding 1 lakh rupees (100 thousand rupees). They said that will come back on October 25 to collect money, but they did not come. We had no clue about their address or any other detail. And everyone was scared that how the money would be collected thus everyone was sitting quietly out of fear," said Uma Manjhi, wife of a slain Lachinder.

The incident took place about 450 kilometres away from Raipur.

Eastern West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and western Maharashtra are the worst Maoist-hit states in India.

There are about 22,000 Maoist combatants across India, claiming that they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless. (ANI)