RAIPUR: A human rights group on Monday demanded a judicial probe into the death of eight persons in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur on February 1, alleging that a joint team of security forces killed innocent villagers in a staged encounter.
The Chhattisgarh police immediately contested the accusation and linked the claim to the success of the offensive by the security forces that it said, has led to “irreversible setbacks” by the Maoists in their “erstwhile stronghold areas”.
On Saturday, Chhattisgarh police said eight Maoists were killed in a gunfight between security forces and Maoists and that a state police jawan was also injured in the incident. A day later, the police said the eight were senior Maoist cadres carrying a cumulative reward of ₹16 lakh.
But on Monday, human rights group Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh claimed in a statement that the encounter was staged and cited statements by villagers to back its claim that the villagers were rounded up and later killed. It said the incident should be probed by a sitting or retired high court judge.
The statement said security forces raided Korcholi and Todka villages and barged into homes in the two places. Scared villagers attempted to run towards the kills. “Gunfire was then heard intermittently between 9am and 2pm from Todi Hills,” the statement said.
“The so-called encounter was staged after villagers had already been detained,” it said, asserting that seven of the eight were confirmed to be villagers.
“The remaining individual is also believed to be a civilian, but confirmation from villagers is still awaited. A voter ID card belonging to Lachhu Pottam, one of the deceased, proves that he was a local resident, not an insurgent,” it added.
Arjun Pottam, who identified himself as the brother of Lacchu Pottam, told reporters on Sunday evening that his brother was a farmer, was innocent and was survived by two sons and a daughter.
“On Saturday police arrived in my village at around 5am and took Lachhu away to the nearby forest. Later one more group of villagers were taken to the nearby hill area and then gunshots were heard in the area at around 11 am. We later came to know that Lachhu was killed by the security forces and he was branded as a Maoist cadre,” Arjun, who reached Bijapur for his brother’s body, said.
According to the police statement on Sunday, Lachchu Potam (40) was among the five Maoists killed in the encounter who carried a reward of ₹1 lakh each.
The human rights group said there were other villagers who had been detained by the police on Saturday and hadn’t been released yet.
Similarly , another resident of Korcholi village claimed that his two brothers have been missing since Saturday.
Munna Pottam who lives in Bijapur and works for a private company said his brothers, Sukram Potam and Chhotu Ram Pottam, were detained by the police and are still in their custody. “My brothers were simple farmers… I request the police to release them. I live in Bijapur but people of my village Korcholi told me that the police picked up many villages and later some of them were killed,” he said.
Chhattisgarh-based human rights activist Rinchin, said she also received a phone call about the detention of some people. “Locals called me that day to say that villagers were detained by security forces and later some of them were killed,” said Rinchin.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar range, Sunderaj P rubbished the claims, insisting that the persons killed in the gunfight were hard core Maoists of West Bastar division.
“The banned and illegal outfits of CPI Maoist formation are facing a survival crisis like never before. In the last 12 months they have suffered irreversible setbacks in all their erstwhile stronghold areas. Same was the case in the Korcholi operation on 01st of February, where dead bodies of 08 Maoist cadres along with INSAS rifle and other arms and ammunitions were recovered,” the IG said in a statement.
He also asked Maoist cadres to shun violence and join the mainstream.
“In spite of this appeal, if someone chooses to be part of the violent and disruptive activities, then they have to face stern action. The false and baseless allegations of Maoists and their sympathisers won’t deter our resolve to bring an end to the Naxal problem, responsible for unexplainable miseries to the native population,” the IG added.
