Bhubaneswar, Jan. 3: The Orissa State Human Rights Commission (OSHRC) today asked Bargarh superintendent of police (SP) Surya Thankappan to submit within 15 days a report on the killing of a BJP leader.
While police described the BJP leader and his associate killed during an encounter on December 28 in Paikmal as Maoists, the BJP had alleged that the deceased were victims of police atrocity.
“We have taken up the case suo motu on the basis of media reports. We have asked the SP to send a preliminary report. If the police admits that it is a mistake, we will recommend compensation to the families of the deceased. If we find loopholes in the police report, we will order an independent inquiry,” said the state human rights commission chairperson Justice R.K. Patra.
The BJP had questioned the alleged encounter between police and Madhab Singh Thakur and his associate Ramesh Sahu. The BJP has already demanded a CBI inquiry. “The deceased leader Madhab was BJP’s mandal president. He was quite active in the movement against mining in Gandhamardhan mines. He was also in the forefront of a demonstration against Naveen’s recent visit to Bargarh,” said BJP state unit president Jual Oram.
BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra, who was a member of a fact-finding team, said: “The BJP has always opposed the Maoist ideology. Even then, BJP leaders have been targeted by police. The photo taken of the body clearly points to the fact that police had taken them from the roadside to a secluded place and killed them. We will present all the documents to the appropriate authorities.”
Protesting against the alleged killings, the Gandhmardhan Yuba Parishad today observed a 12-hour bandh at Paikamal and Jharbandha. They burnt effigies of the chief minister and demanded a CBI inquiry into the episode.
“We had recovered bodies of two Maoists killed during an exchange of fire in Gandhamardan hills near Paikamal on Monday night,” Bargarh SP Surya Thankappan said.
Thankappan claimed: “The police have concrete evidence about the close links of the deceased persons with Maoists. They were victims of the encounter cross firing.”
