THE CRPF has initiated an internal inquiry into the killing of 19 alleged Maoists in Chhattisgarh early on Friday morning amid allegations that the victims were innocent villagers. CRPF director general K Vijay Kumar said the truth would come out after the inquiry is over. Denying any intelligence failure,CRPF officials said they had been working on the operation for the last one month. Kumar said the encounter site at Sarkeguda in Bijapur district was known to be an area where the Maoists held regular meetings. This was not the first time that a meeting (by Maoists) was being held at the village. Formally or informally,we had collected enough information about the place. Our force was sent from three directions and the group proceeding from Basaguda was attacked first,leading to firing by the other two groups, said Kumar. The inquiry is being conducted by the commandant there. He will submit a report as soon as possible after collecting all the facts. There have been no unjust violations from our side,like hacking the bodies with axes. The bodies have been properly photographed and videographed and we can see no such marks. Our personnel dont indulge in all these practices, said Pankaj Kumar Singh,IG (operations). But another senior officer admitted that some innocent villagers may have been killed and necessary action would be taken after the inquiry was over. Meanwhile,the two injured CoBRA personnel who were airlifted and admitted at a Raipur hospital were reported to be out of danger. One had received a bullet in his jaw while the other was shot in the chest.
