Chhattisgarh: Congress demands probe headed by HC judge in Bijapur encounter

Raipur: The opposition Congress on Saturday demanded that a high court judge should conduct a probe into the killing of 12 Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on May 10, which villagers have alleged was a fake encounter.

Addressing a press conference here, state Congress chief Deepak Baij said the villagers had levelled serious allegations against police in connection with the encounter, and hence, it requires a high-level probe.

The police on May 10 claimed they had killed 12 Naxalites in a forest near Pidia village under Gangaloor police station limits in Bijapur district during an anti-Naxalite operation.

Police also identified the deceased Naxalites and claimed that they all carried cash rewards.

Some people were also rounded up during the operation, police had said.

Local villagers, family members of the deceased and activists had accused the police of staging a fake encounter, and those killed were not Maoists, a charge the police have rejected.

Baij said the Congress had constituted a fact-finding team headed by its former MLA Santram Netam, and it visited Pidia village on May 16.

A family member of one of the deceased persons informed the fact-finding team that of the 12 killed, two were active 'sangham' members of the Maoists, while the remaining were residents of Ittawar and Pidia villages, he said.

Five others injured in the shootout were also not linked with Maoists, he added.

"The police executed the shootout by branding innocent tribals as Naxalites for reward and promotion. A judicial enquiry should be ordered into the incident," the Congress leader said.

According to locals, the police opened fire on villagers around 6 am on May 10 when they had gone to pluck tendu leaves in the forest, he said.

"The allegations levelled against the police were serious and sensitive. Considering this, a high-level impartial investigation should be conducted in the matter," Baij said.

The Congress demands that the encounter be investigated under the supervision of a sitting judge of the high court, he said, adding that the party stands with the state government in all constitutional and legal efforts to restore peace in the state.

"It should be ensured that no innocent person is killed in the action of security forces. Any compromise or action at the cost of life and property of the tribals of Bastar is not acceptable to the Congress," Baij said.