Deputy Chief Minister (DY CM) of Chhattisgarh, Vijay Sharma has once again slammed the Congress party over their stand on the Pediya encounter of Bijapur that resulted in the killing of as many as 12 members of the outlawed CPI Maoist in an exchange of fire between the security forces and the Maoists on May 10.
Interacting with the media on May 26, the Deputy CM of the state, Sharma while expressing his disappointment over the Congress’ demand for a judicial enquiry on the Pediya encounter, said that those who are termed as innocent by the Congress party were booked under the regime of the Congress government itself.
Training guns at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief, Deepak Baij, Sharma said that the Congress state president should first verify the facts and then make a statement into the matter.
Further while highlighting the crime records of those neutralised in the encounter, the DY CM said, that it was under the Congress regime that Lucky Kunjam was booked under section 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Similarly, a case under section 307 has been pending against Orcha Chotu, seven cases including of one under section 307 has been pending against Chaitu Kunjam, six cases including of one under section 302 has also been pending against Sanno Awlam, informed DY CM, Sharma.
A case of abduction has been pending against Yoga Barse, six cases including one under section 302 has been pending against Sunita Kunjam while another case under section 307 has been pending against Chaitu Kunjam, added Sharma.
Sharma also refuted the claims of constructions of roads and culverts under the Congress government regime. He further pointed out that no security camps were opened under the Congress regime and it is under the BJP government that camps are being opened.
Further, the BJP legislator from Kawardha while asking for suggestions from the Congress state president, Baij said that “I am requesting this time and again, Bastar has started walking in the direction of Naxal (Maoist) elimination, I will share the feedback that I am getting from Bastar someday, people wants to end it, they do not want to sleep in fear but peace and when Bastar has started walking in the right direction then we should act vividly.”
“We shouldn’t hamper the morale of the security forces and I even request Deepak Baij ji to step forward and come up with suggestions, but labelling such baseless allegations are not good at all,” added Sharma.
It is to be noted that earlier while expressing concern over the doubts raised by a section of villagers over the encounter, the Indian National Congress (INC) had formed a committee to look into the allegations that a few killed in the said encounter were innocent villagers who had been branded as Maoists.
The committee formed by the congress party was headed by the former vice-president of the State assembly, Santram Netam. While the other senior leaders in the committee included of Vikram Mandavi, Indrashah Mandavi, Janak Ram Dhruv, Savitri Mandavi, all MLAs of the Congress party.
The development occurred after family members of the Maoist killed in action along with a section of villagers raised doubt over the encounter and alleged that a few of the Maoist killed in the action was not associated with the outlawed group and were innocent villagers.
However contrary to the claims of the villagers, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) South Bastar, Kamlochan Kashyap had refuted the allegations and insisted that those killed in the encounter were Maoist carrying bounties on their heads.
Bijapur encounter
It is worth mentioning here that the security forces on May 10 launched a major offensive against the Maoist in insurgency–hit Bijapur district leading to a fierce encounter between the forces and the outlaws which lasted for several hours.
Hundreds of personnel of paramilitary forces along with the personnel of Chhattisgarh police were part of the massive operation that was launched after receiving credible intel about the presence of the senior cadres of the outlawed CPI Maoist in the wee hours of Friday.
As many as 12 Maoist cadres were gunned down in the exchange of fire which commenced after the joint team of security forces encircled a group of Maoist in the Pediya forest area under Gangloor police station limits on Friday morning.
After the gunfight stopped, the joint team also recovered explosive materials, arms, ammunition and other daily use materials from the vicinity of the spot.
The operation launched in Pediya was part of the ongoing offensive of the security forces against the Maoist in the insurgency-hit state. As of now, a total of 116 Maoists have been so far killed in separate operation launched by the forces in the state in this year alone.
