The Shilda camp after being set on fire following the February 15, 2010, attack

Salua, Nov. 27: Widows of three of the 24 jawans who were killed by Maoists in Shilda have expressed astonishment and anger at questions being raised about the manner in which Kishan, the alleged mastermind of the camp massacre, was shot dead.

“We feel relieved that the mastermind of the attack is dead. But why are now questions being raised that Kishanji was killed in a fake encounter?” asked one the three widows who spoke out yesterday morning.

One lady did not want her name to be published in order to protect the privacy of her family. The other two ladies did not make a specific request to withhold their names or photographs but The Telegraph is doing so in the light of possible risk to their lives.

The lady, in her forties and who spoke first, pointed out that her husband — an Eastern Frontier Rifles jawan — and others were “killed in cold blood when they were inside the camp — some of them relaxing after duty hours while some were busy cooking meal”.

The jawans were killed on February 15 last year by Maoist guerrillas, several of them women, in Shilda in the biggest rebel strike in the state. Before leaving, the rebels had set fire to the camp, 75km from Midnapore town.

Maoist sympathisers, rights activists and some politicians had said Kishan was killed in a “fake encounter”. A CID probe ordered by the government into the incident is now under way.

The widow asked: “Why didn’t anyone ask those who are today raising questions about Kishanji’s death why the Maoists sneaked up from behind like cowards and killed our husbands? The murderer has got due punishment. What has happened is just and right.”

Another widow, aged 35, said she still shuddered thinking about that fateful evening in February last year and recounted how the “whole world came crashing down”.

“I was sitting with my two children in front of the TV that evening. I was hoping against hope that my husband was not among those killed. I was also trying to get hold of my husband’s colleagues over phone but every one was busy. At 11 in the night, I was informed that my husband had died. The whole world came crashing down.”

The lady then spoke of her prayer since then. “That day, I started praying that those who killed my husband should also die in a similar manner. When I saw on TV on Thursday evening that Kishan has been killed, I thanked God.”

The third widow, in her early forties, said she was feeling much relieved since Thursday and “saluted” the jawans who carried out the operation. “I was moving around with a heavy heart after my husband’s death. But when I heard about Kishanji’s death on Thursday, I felt relieved. It was because of him that many innocent people have lost their lives. I also salute the joint forces jawans who have carried out the operation.”

The lady added: “Ever since the Maoists turned active in Bengal, they became synonymous with death. But we find with astonishment that some people are shedding tears over Kishanji’s death. Those who are speaking in favour of him did not shed any tears when our husbands were killed.”