BENGALURU: BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra on Monday alleged that the government was attempting to suppress the truth behind the recent forest department encounter in the Hanur range of Chamarajanagar district.
Speaking at a press conference at Vidhana Soudha on Monday, Vijayendra called for an immediate CBI investigation, the release of post-mortem reports, compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of the deceased, and the resignation of the forest minister. Vijayendra said the BJP had already constituted a fact-finding committee that visited the site and gathered information. The findings, he claimed, have only deepened serious questions about the official version of events. “The truth of the incident is being concealed by the state government,” he charged.
“What is the need to hide the post-mortem report? The public has a right to know what it contains. The failure to release it is itself the source of many suspicions,” Vijayendra said.
Displaying pictorial evidence of the incident, he alleged that the images suggest the deceased persons were shot at from extremely close range, one wound appearing to show a gun held against the shoulder and another at the back of the neck.
Citing expert opinion and purported observations in the post-mortem findings, he argued the injuries do not match a long-range encounter. “This does not look like a case of firing from a distance. There is a strong possibility of close-range shooting.
If the doctors who conducted the post-mortem have noted this, why is the government not releasing the report?” he asked. Vijayendra further said that those killed were not habitual offenders. He demanded clarity on the whereabouts of one Mahimadas, who had gone into the forest and may be a key witness. “Why say one thing first and then alter the statement in the House?” he asked.