A preliminary report prepared by a 13-member Congress committee in Chhattisgarh has claimed that at least six minors had been killed in the anti-Maoist operation in Bijapur last week.
The new claim by the Congress committee headed by MLA Kawashi Lakma refuted the earlier version given by the Home Ministry’s statement supporting the CRPF’s account of the incident.
The committee has also said it was not sure as to who started the gun-battle that killed 17 villagers on June 29 in Bijapur village in Chhattisgarh. However, the report squarely put the blame on the Raman Singh government for the “botch-up”. “The government did not discuss how the operation should be conducted,” the report said. The risk involved was not taken into account by the state government and the CRPF, it added.
All the minors killed in the encounter were aged between 12 and 16 years, the report said.
The report also included the names of the minors killed: Irpa Suresh, Dilip Markam, Ekka Mittu, Kunja Mala, Kumari Kaka Saraswatu, Kaka Rahul, Ram Vilas Markan.