Preliminary investigations indicate that Nureti was “probably killed in cross firing” during an encounter between security forces and Maoists on 23 January.
A senior Chhattisgarh police officer said on Monday that a 23-year-old tribal, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Narayanpur district last week, had no links with the Maoists.
He conceded that the tribal man Manu Ram Nureti was wrongly classified as a Maoist by the police.
Bastar Police Inspector General (IG) Sundarraj P said preliminary investigation indicated that Nureti was “probably killed in cross firing” during an encounter between security forces and Maoists on January 23.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that Nureti along with three of his friends had gone hunting in the forest on the night of 23 January. They were carrying three guns, a bow and an arrow. Suddenly, at around 1:30 am on January 24, there was a gunfight between a team of DRG, who was on patrol duty, and the Maoists, in which Nureti was probably killed in cross-firing,” Sundarraj P said in a statement issued on Monday. .
Sundarraj’s statement came days after Nureti’s family challenged the police’s claim that the deceased was a Maoist.
Manu Ram Nureti’s brother, Renu Ram, a surrendered Maoist who was inducted into the State Police District Reserve Guard (DRG) to fight the guerrillas, said, “My brother was not a Maoist. He had also recently applied for recruitment in the police force.”
Manu Ram’s wife Manavati said that her husband had gone to hunt birds with only a slingshot. He told the media, “He was also wearing my sweater and slippers, but the body the police are showing is in uniform with a rifle.”
Sundarraj said investigators have recorded the statements of three persons accompanying Manu Ram Nureti at the time of the encounter, which shows that Nureti was a victim of cross-firing.
Monday’s police statement comes a day after another death in a police encounter in Bastar’s Sukma district.
According to police, a joint team of a unit of CRPF, District Reserve Guard and 201st Battalion of COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) were on patrol on Sunday when Maoists opened fire near Timmapuram village.