No amount of internal turmoil in the country can justify fake encounter killings by the police,the Supreme Court said today and asked Andhra Pradesh government to file a status report on the probe relating to the killing of a top Maoist leader and a journalist. A Bench of justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha also hinted that it may entrust the probe to an independent investigating agency under the supervision of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) as the present investigation by the state CB-CID may not inspire confidence. "No amount of internal disturbances can allow it (encounter) to happen," the bench said when senior counsel Altaf Ahmed,appearing for Andhra Pradesh government,argued that Maoist leader Cherkuri Rajkumar and journalist Hemchandra Pandey were killed in a genuine encounter and cited the growing incidents of Maoist violence in the country. Azad,a senior member of banned CPI (Maoist) Central Committee,and Pandey were killed in an alleged fake encounter on the intervening night of July 1-2,2010,in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. The state's counsel said law-enforcing agencies,including para military forces,were fighting against several odds as Maoists had spread their tentacles in the country creating largescale internal disturbances. However,the Bench asked the state to submit a status report before April 15 the next date of hearing. The apex court also asked counsel Prashant Bhushan,appearing for Bineeta Pandey,widow of Hemachandra Pandey,to suggest a suitable mechanism "within the structure like the State Human Rights Commission" for investigating the killings. "We may consider entrusting the probe to an agency within the structure if the present investigation does not inspire confidence," the bench said. According to Bhushan,Azad and Pandey were picked up,drugged and shot dead by the police in a fake encounter in Adilabad and inisted that only a judicial probe could establish whether it was a geniune or a fake encounter. Swami Agnivesh,who has been mediating between the Maoists and the government for a ceasefire in the ongoing hostitlites,quoted members of the banned outfit to concur with Bhushan's allegation that Azad was picked up by the police and shot dead in a fake encounter. He alleged that a letter written by him to Rajkumar for working out a truce was found on the deceased's body at the encounter site. Swami Agnivesh said he had written the letter in response to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's personal request to him to help work out an amicable solution to the Maoist problem. "We have no reasone to disbelive Swami Agnivesh at the moment," the bench remarked when Altaf Ahmed tried to dispute the claim. The Centre and Andhra Pradesh governemnt had filed affidavits opposing a judicial probe and insisting the probe being conducted by the CB-CID was proceeding in the right direction. "All experts had opined that the bullet injuries on the bodies of the deceased were caused by long-range firing and not by way of shots being fired at a close range," the state government said in its 33-page reply while referring to the post-mortem report. The state government said there was nothing unusual in an exchange of fire betwen the police and the members of a banned outfit as Andhra Pradesh has been facing the serious problem of Naxalism for several decades. "The state has been prone to Naxal violence and there had been exchanges of fire between the police and armed Maoists," the affidavit said. The Centre said the state government has taken all possible steps" and the petition seeking a judicial probe needs to be dismissed. In the present case,the state government has taken all possible steps within their command and nothing is lacking,warranting the issuance of mandamus by this court and the petition is liable to be dismissed," the Home Ministry said in its three-page affidavit. The governments' response came after the apex court had issued a notice to them on January 14 on the separate petitions filed by social activist Swami Agnivesh and Bineeta seeking a judicial probe into the incident. The bench had earlier expressed displeasure over the incident and had remarked "we cannot allow the republic killing its own children." Seeking the judicial probe into the killings,the petition alleged the post-mortem reports of both the persons and a fact-finding exercise carried out by rights groups clearly indicate that the encounter was not genuine. The petitioners referred to the fact-finding carried out by Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO),a national coalition of human rights organisations,that both were killed by the Andhra Pradesh Police in blatant violation of their rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The petitions alleged Azad,58,who carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head and Pandey,32,were killed from a very close range.
