THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOZHIKODE:The Crime Branch of the state police will investigate the death of two Maoists in a police encounter in Nilambur forests on Thursday.
Orders to this effect were issued by State Police Chief Loknath Behera late on Saturday. The decision to hand over the probe to Crime Branch is in pursuance of the Supreme Court guidelines on encounter killings.
The Supreme Court had in 2014 ruled that in all cases of encounter deaths, there should be mandatory registration of FIRs and investigation by CID or any other independent agency. Meanwhile a pro-Maoist message which mentions the Nilambur encounter, has surfaced in the capital. It warned of retaliation for the killing of Maoists. The message was written with a marker pen on a poster pasted in the toilet of Indian Coffee House outlet at Spencer Junction near the Government Secretariat. The Cantonment Police have begun an investigation into the writing.
Rights panel registers case
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has registered a case and has sought an explanation from the State Police Chief on the basis of a complaint that the two Maoists, who were gunned down in Nilambur forests on Thursday, were killed in a fake encounter.The rights panel asked the State Police Chief to probe the matter and submit a report within two weeks.
Commission member K Mohan Kumar said that the mystery surrounding the incident should be unravelled.The order came on the basis of a complaint by an activist P K Raju who stated that the police has not been able to furnish a credible explanation on the killings even two days after the encounter.
The complainant said it was hard to believe the police version that the ultras were killed after a 20 minute exchange of gunfire. He also drew the Commission’s attention to the fact that no policemen sustained injuries in the firing.
The Commission observed that the media had given different versions of the alleged encounter in Nilambur forests. There were also reports that the Maoists were unarmed, the Commission noted.The human rights panel also directed the State Police Chief to examine whether the Supreme Court guidelines on postmortem were followed in this case.
Police refute fake encounter charges
Malappuram: The police on Saturday denied reports that Kuppu Devraj and Ajitha were eliminated in a fake encounter inside the deep forest at Karulai in Nilambur. “It was not a fake encounter as media is projecting. The duo were killed in a real encounter. Nearly 10 others, including a woman, who were lucky to evade the bullets, escaped into the jungle,”Malappuram police chief Debesh Kumar Behera stated in a press conference at the Circle Inspector’s office, Nilambur.He stated that the media was kept away from the encounter site as there was possibility of land mines. “There were incidents where CRPF Jawans were killed in land mine blasts,” Behera said. The SP said the insurgents were the first to pull the trigger and the police counter attacked with multiple rounds of shots. “The insurgents were armed and had enough time to escape,”he added. The incident took place at tri-junction in the forest when a 60-strong police squad, carrying out an intelligence-based combing operation, stumbled upon four Maoist camps. The insurgents, who sighted the police, immediately began firing. “In the ensuing firefight, which lasted over 20 minutes, two ultras were killed,” DySP P Mohanachandran said. “The two sides exchanged fire, but the police maintained an upper hand, forcing most of the insurgents to retreat. Those who were not able to run took the bullets,” he said.The police said that they were not aware that the CPI(Maoist) central committee member was hiding in the Nilambur forest.
Autopsy conducted, Bodies to be kept at MCH till tomorrow
Kozhikode: The postmortem examination of the bodies of two Maoists, who were killed in an encounter, was conducted at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, here, on Saturday. The police have informed that the body of the two would be kept at the hospital mortuary till Monday. According to officials, who referred to the preliminary post-mortem report, both died from gunshot wounds. Three bullets were recovered from the body of Kuppu Devaraj and five from the body of Ajita aka Kaveri. “The post-mortem examination has confirmed 19 gunshot wounds on the body of Ajita and seven gunshot wounds on the body of Kuppu Devaraj”, said an official. The post-mortem examination which began at 12:30pm on Saturday was completed by 5:40 in the evening. A team of three doctors each led by Forensic Head Dr K Prasannan performed the post-mortem procedure.
Clear the air: Kummanam
T’Puram: BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan has demanded a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the killing of Maoists in Nilambur forests. Speaking to Express, he said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had the responsibility to clear doubts prevailing in the minds of people about the encounter killing. “Forty eight hours have passed since the Nilambur encounter incident. But so far no responsible person from the Government has come forward to clear the doubts of the people,” he said.
Nilambur encounter is not fake: Chennithala
Alappuzha: OPPOSITION leader Ramesh Chennithala said on Saturday that he did not believe that the police encounter with Maoists in Nilambur forest was a fake one. He told reporters in Alappuzha that the CPI’s stand on the attack was immature. However, he supported the demand for a probe saying, “The Maoists had fired at the police and the Thunderbolt team. The Supreme Court has asked that inquiry be conducted in such type of encounters to avoid suspicion that they are fake. So the state government should conduct an impartial inquiry in this case too.” Chennithala said that the Maoist threat should be thwarted and proper steps should be taken to reduce the threat from the group. “Photographs of the bodies of the killed Maoists should be released so as to avoid all suspicion about the encounter,” he said.
‘Stage-managed’
Alleging that the two Maoists were killed in a ‘fake encounter’, Kuppu Devaraj’s family did not claim his body. The family had also demanded that the autopsy should be conducted only in the presence of a judicial magistrate. “I suspect it was cold-blooded murder by police.,” said Babu D, Kuppu Devaraj’s brother.