The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Chhattisgarh government to preserve the body of top Maoist commander Katha Ramchandra Reddy till the high court decides a plea alleging a fake encounter and seeking a CBI probe into the matter.
Reddy carried a bounty of ₹2 crore on his head and was wanted in around seven states.
According to Chhattisgarh Police, Ramachandra Reddy was killed with his accomplice Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy in a gun battle that broke out in the morning of September 22 in the forest of Abhujmaad, adjoining Maharashtra, when security forces were out on a search operation based on inputs about the movement of senior cadres in the region.
The claim has been disputed by Ramachandra’s family, which alleged that the duo were tortured and shot dead.
The family had moved Chhattisgarh High Court for a probe by the CBI and had refused to accept the body for cremation. The high court, however, declined a request for an urgent hearing, prompting Ramachandra’s son Raja Chandra to file a special leave petition before the top court.
After hearing senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for Raja and solicitor-general Tushar Mehta for the state, the bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and George Augustine Masih directed the Chhattisgarh government to preserve the body in the mortuary until the high court took up the petition by the deceased’s family.
“Till such time the high court decides the petition, the body shall not be cremated/buried or disposed of in any other way,” the bench said, directing the high court to take up the plea upon reopening after Dussehra holidays.
Mehta informed the bench that the body of one Maoist was handed over to his family and cremated, while the body of the petitioner’s father was in a hospital. He said the post-mortem was done under video recording, and no mala fide could be attributed to the police.
The plea sought investigation by an independent agency, preferably by the CBI, not comprising officers from Chhattisgarh, besides a fresh post-mortem.