Narayanpur, Jan 31 (PTI) A week after police claimed a “Maoist” was gunned down in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, a senior official on Monday said preliminary investigation into the incident suggested the deceased tribal did not have any association with the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and he was probably killed in cross-firing.
Following an encounter between state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and rebels on the intervening night of January 23 and 24 near Bharanda village of the district, police had said they had recovered the body of a male “ultra” along with a muzzle-loading gun.
The deceased was later identified as Manu Ram Nureti, a native of Ghotiya village, and his kin, including a brother who is a policeman, claimed he was innocent and had no links with Maoists.
After the incident, an FIR was registered and a probe initiated, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that Nureti along with his three friends had gone into the forest near Bharanda for wildlife hunting on January 23 night. They were carrying three muzzle-loading guns, bows and arrows.
“Suddenly, a gunfight broke out at around 1:30 am on January 24 between a team of the DRG, which was out on patrol duty, and ultras. Nureti was probably killed in cross-firing,” he said.
Prima facie, his association with the banned outfit CPI (Maoist) has not been established, the senior IPS officer added.
Statements of the three persons accompanying Nureti at the time of the gunfight were also recorded and they established the tribal villager was caught in cross-firing, Sundarraj said.
“Of them, two persons submitted their muzzle-loading guns (one each), which they used for hunting, to police on Monday”, the IG said.
Nureti’s family has admitted that he had gone into the forest for hunting armed with muzzle-loading guns, he claimed, adding further investigation into the matter was underway.
As per norms, the Narayanpur collector has also ordered a separate magisterial inquiry into the incident.
In November last year, Nureti had applied for the post of constable in the ongoing recruitment for Bastar Fighters, a specialised unit of the Chhattisgarh police being raised in every district of the Naxal-hit Bastar region, police said.
His elder brother, Rainu Nureti, a former Naxal who surrendered in 2011, had joined the DRG in 2014, they said.
Rainu Nureti, posted as a constable in Narayanpur DRG, had earlier said his brother was preparing to join the police force and had no association with Maoists.
Soon after the gunfight, in a letter to the Narayanpur collector, the deceased’s wife and local villagers had demanded a probe into the incident.
Then the Narayanpur police had said such allegations are leveled under pressure from Naxals. PTI COR TKP RSY RSY
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Source: The Print
