Jagdalpur police kill ‘wrong man’, offers family Rs 10,000 for last rites

News and picture courtesy: Avdhesh Mallick, Pradesh18, Feb 16, 2016

Police action in Jagdalpur landed cops in a controversy after Hadma Batloi, a wanted Maoist, was allegedly killed in a fierce gun battle.

The family members of the deceased, mukhiya of Batloi’s village and AAP leader Soni Sori addressed a joint press conference in Raipur and called police encounter fake.

Soni claimed that instead of any encounter the innocent tribal Hadma Batloi was picked up by the police on gun point from his resident on February 3 when he was sleeping along his family. Two days later his body was found in the morgue of Jagdalpur Medical College.

She claimed the father of seven children was murdered in cold blood. She alleged under the supervision of IG Kalluri Tribals Police is intentionally targeting the tribals.

The deceased wife produced the copies of identity cards issued by the government including Indira Awas, voter ID card, Adhar Card, Pass Book and others. Speaking in Gondi dialect she said while she and her husband were sleeping some people knocked the door in police uniform and compelled his husband to go with them, when he resisted. After that incident only body of his husband returned.

She asked who will take care of her children claiming she identified one of the kidnappers as Shukla TI of Madum Police Station.

Mukhiya of the village Sambha Sudharaam said he made several rounds of Madum Police Station along Hadma’s wife after the incident, but every time the Munshi of the Police Station denied about whereabouts of Hadma.

After two days, Sarpanch of Anjer Santu informed him that dead body of Hadma was lying in the morgue. He alleged TI Shukla offered him Rs 10,000 to carry out the last rites admitted wrong man was killed.

AAP State convener put a big question mark over the encounter and police intelligence gathering system and prosecuting mechanism. He said on one side government provides all legal documents from ration card to Indra Awas, recognizes him as farmer and on the other side police all of sudden raid the house, kidnap the man and assassinate him.

Jagdalpur SP Rajendra Dash rubbished fake encounter reports and said Soni Sori was lying.