Andhra-Telangana Human Rights Forum alleges aerial bombings on Maoists

“Are we to believe that the Chattisgarh government is intent on covering up wanton illegalities by the security forces as recent reports of aerial bombing suggest? Why then is legitimate democratic activity seeking to enquire into these highly disturbing reports being disallowed? We call upon the Chattisgarh government to immediately release all the CDRO activists and desist from hindering their lawful right to unearthing facts,” said V S Krishna, coordinator of Human Rights Forum (HRF) for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The banned CPI (Maoist) is opposing an operation by Chattisgarh security forces comprising their anti-Maoist units, the elite anti-Naxal unit of Telangana The Greyhounds, and commandos of COBRA battalion of CRPF forces to flush out Maoists. They said that innocent civilians were caught in the crossfire.

The CPI (Maoist) Bastar Divison Committee issued a statement that the security forces have started a deadly campaign against them using surveillance drones which sent information about alleged Maoist meetings to helicopter gunships which allegedly flew in and opened fire indiscriminately ending up killing innocent civilians who were caught in the crossfire of the offence involving Chattisgarh security forces and Greyhounds of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Governments of AP and Telangana have said that their forces were involved in such operations in recent days. This is the third time that members of the Human Rights Forum (HRF) of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the rights activists of the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO) have been detained in Chattisgarh.