RAIPUR: Two days after security forces claimed to have killed 12 Maoists in an encounter in Bastar’s Bijapur, local villagers, mostly women, marched to district headquarters accusing police of a fake encounter. Innocent villagers were gunned down while collecting tendu leaves, they claimed.
DIG (South Bastar) Kamalochan Kashyap said those killed were Maoists, many of whom carried bounties.CM Vishnu Deo Sai praised police for their action against Maoists. “Just two days ago, 12 Maoists were killed in an encounter,” CM said on Sunday.
In Bijapur, the protest is gaining momentum. Tribal rights activists plan to visit Pidiya village, around 40km from Bijapur and 470km south of Raipur, on a fact-finding mission and Maoists have issued a statement alleging that innocent villagers were killed in police action.
Protesters from Pidiya village in Bijapur’s Gangaloor region, where the alleged encounter occurred, began arriving at the district headquarters on Saturday. They are now camping there, seeking justice for the ‘fake encounter’. Women protesters claimed that security forces shot residents from Pidiya and neighbouring Itawar village when they were gathering tendu leaves, a crucial livelihood activity in the area. One of the agitators, Avlam Budri, said police arrested her husband during tendu leaf collection on Friday.
Tribal activist Soni Sori, who accompanied them, told reporters in Bijapur that Friday’s police encounter was fake and security personnel had “fired indiscriminately at tendu collectors”. Rakesh Avlam, who identified himself as a Pidiya resident, alleged that one of his cousins was injured in police action.
Former Congress CM Bhupesh Baghel posted on X that security forces should “keep in mind that their ultimate commitment is to the Constitution. Political pressure on security forces to achieve results should not lead to questioning their actions. There is a need to solve the naxalite problem while maintaining the morale of security forces.”
Maoists’ West Bastar division committee described the Bijapur encounter as fake and urged people to “condemn the massacre”. Maoists alleged that 1,200 security personnel fired indiscriminately at tendu collectors, even shooting a two-inch mortar cell and a rocket launcher at them. Several innocent villagers were injured and should receive medical care, Maoists said, demanding action against the forces, release of the detained villagers, and a judicial probe.
Security forces have been on the offensive ever since BJP govt took over in Dec last year. The CM said 104 naxalites have been eliminated this year in encounters with security forces, including 12 in Pidiya.
DIG (South Bastar) Kamalochan Kashyap said those killed were Maoists, many of whom carried bounties.CM Vishnu Deo Sai praised police for their action against Maoists. “Just two days ago, 12 Maoists were killed in an encounter,” CM said on Sunday.
In Bijapur, the protest is gaining momentum. Tribal rights activists plan to visit Pidiya village, around 40km from Bijapur and 470km south of Raipur, on a fact-finding mission and Maoists have issued a statement alleging that innocent villagers were killed in police action.
Protesters from Pidiya village in Bijapur’s Gangaloor region, where the alleged encounter occurred, began arriving at the district headquarters on Saturday. They are now camping there, seeking justice for the ‘fake encounter’. Women protesters claimed that security forces shot residents from Pidiya and neighbouring Itawar village when they were gathering tendu leaves, a crucial livelihood activity in the area. One of the agitators, Avlam Budri, said police arrested her husband during tendu leaf collection on Friday.
Tribal activist Soni Sori, who accompanied them, told reporters in Bijapur that Friday’s police encounter was fake and security personnel had “fired indiscriminately at tendu collectors”. Rakesh Avlam, who identified himself as a Pidiya resident, alleged that one of his cousins was injured in police action.
Former Congress CM Bhupesh Baghel posted on X that security forces should “keep in mind that their ultimate commitment is to the Constitution. Political pressure on security forces to achieve results should not lead to questioning their actions. There is a need to solve the naxalite problem while maintaining the morale of security forces.”
Maoists’ West Bastar division committee described the Bijapur encounter as fake and urged people to “condemn the massacre”. Maoists alleged that 1,200 security personnel fired indiscriminately at tendu collectors, even shooting a two-inch mortar cell and a rocket launcher at them. Several innocent villagers were injured and should receive medical care, Maoists said, demanding action against the forces, release of the detained villagers, and a judicial probe.
Security forces have been on the offensive ever since BJP govt took over in Dec last year. The CM said 104 naxalites have been eliminated this year in encounters with security forces, including 12 in Pidiya.