The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Chhattisgarh government to preserve the body of top Maoist commander Katha Ramchandra Reddy, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Narayanpur district, until the state high court decides a plea seeking an independent probe.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A.G. Masih ordered that the body should not be buried or cremated until the high court rules on the petition filed by Reddy’s son, Raja Chandra, who alleged that his father was tortured and killed in police custody. The court further requested the high court to take up the matter soon after reopening post-Dussehra holidays.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the police were attempting to dispose of the body to cover up the alleged custodial killing. The petition also sought a fresh postmortem and an investigation by the CBI or any independent agency, with officers not belonging to Chhattisgarh.
The plea, filed through advocate Satya Mitra, stressed that the encounter was staged and described it as a “murder in the guise of an operation.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the state police, rejected the allegations, stating that Reddy was among two Maoist leaders killed in a genuine gun battle on September 22 in Abhujmaad forests, Narayanpur. He informed the bench that Reddy carried a ₹7 crore bounty placed by seven states.
Mehta said the postmortem was videographed, eliminating any suspicion of foul play, and pointed out that the body of the second slain Maoist, Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy, had already been handed over to his family and cremated.
According to the police, both Reddy (63) and Satyanarayana Reddy (67) were Central Committee members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and had been active in the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee for more than three decades. They were allegedly involved in planning multiple violent attacks that claimed the lives of civilians and security personnel in Bastar.
The September 22 encounter reportedly broke out after security forces received intelligence inputs on Maoist movement. From the site, police said they recovered an AK-47 rifle, an INSAS rifle, a barrel grenade launcher, explosives, Maoist literature, and daily-use materials.
This year alone, security forces have killed 249 Naxalites in Chhattisgarh, including 220 in Bastar division. The most notable killing was that of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70), general secretary of CPI (Maoist), along with five other Central Committee members.
The case now awaits detailed hearing before the Chhattisgarh High Court, which will decide whether to order a fresh investigation into the alleged encounter.
