The Friday night’s killing of eight “civilians,” including three minors, in an alleged encounter between forces and “Naxals” at Edakmetta in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district has sparked a statewide outrage forcing the Raman Singh government to order a judicial probe into the incident on Sunday.
A commander of CoBRA, the elite anti-Naxal wing of CRPF, was also killed in the alleged exchange of fire between security personnel and “Maoists.”
Chief minister Raman Singh convened a high level official meeting here to review the situation at his official residence here where he announced to handover the matter for a thorough probe by justice B.K.Agrawal commission which is currently investigating into last year’s Sarkeguda encounter in the same district leading to death of 17 “innocent” tribals.
“The chief minister has taken the Edakmetta incident very seriously and ordered a probe into it by justice B.K. Agrawal commission,” an official spokesman of the chief minister’s office (CMO) told this newspaper here.
The chief minister also announced an ex-gratia of `5 lakh each to the next kin of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress flayed killing of eight “innocent” tribals by security forces in the alleged encounter and demanded a probe by CBI into the incident.
The incident, which occurred on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, has meanwhile sparked tension in the area with the kin of the deceased refusing to accept the bodies from the police on Sunday.
The irate villagers also staged demonstration at the Gangalur police station in protest against the “fake encounter” killing of eight tribals by forces.
The locals claimed that the security forces opened indiscriminate fire on a gathering of villagers.