Telangana: Rights groups, Left parties want judicial probe into Chhattisgarh encounter

Find fault with the statements of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah who claimed that the killing of a high-ranking leader like Keshav Rao never happened in history

Khammam: Different people’s organisations and Left parties demanded the government to order a judicial probe by a Supreme Court judge into the killing of Maoist Namballa Keshav Rao and 26 others in an encounter in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media here on Thursday, CCA leaders Kaki Bhaskar and Ravi Maruth, Bharat Bachao national vice president Dr MF Gopinath, CPM district secretary Nunna Nageswara Rao, CPI leader Dandi Suresh, CPI ML Mass Line district secretary G Venkateswarlu, Telangana People’s JAC district convener Vijay, Civil Liberties Committee leaders Viplav Kumar, Praja Front leader Sanjeeva Rao and others condemned the killing of Maoists in fake encounters.

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The leaders found fault with the statements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who, responding to the encounter, claimed they had achieved a great success and that the killing of a high-ranking leader like Keshav Rao had never happened in history.

The Centre, which could not catch the terrorists who infiltrated the country and shot citizens, was waging an unconstitutional war to protect the interests of big corporate companies and to exploit mineral wealth in Central India. Drones and paramilitary forces that should be on the India-Pakistan borders have been aimed at eliminating Maoists, the rights groups leaders said.

The Maoists for the last three months declared a ceasefire and said they were ready for peace talks. How could the government wage war on those who were under a ceasefire; the encounter was definitely a ruthless murder by the government, the leaders said.

The leaders alleged that the security forces arrested Keshav Rao, who was undergoing treatment in the hospital due to illness, tortured him and killed him. There was a need to fight against the Modi government which was running an anti-constitutional and anti-democratic administration, they said.