In a significant judicial intervention, the Telangana High Court directed the police on Monday to preserve the bodies of seven Maoists who were killed in a recent encounter in Mulugu district. This directive came following a petition from the wife of one of the deceased, raising serious allegations against the operational conduct of the police.
During the court proceedings, the petitioner claimed that the deaths were the result of torture and a staged encounter by the police on Sunday. In response, government representatives confirmed that autopsies had been conducted and recorded in accordance with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and court mandates, asserting that the bodies had been made available for family members to view.
Further compounding the complexity of the situation, Telangana’s Director-General of Police, Jitender, addressed allegations from the state’s civil rights groups that the Maoists had been poisoned before being fatally shot. He described these claims as “totally false” and provided context to the police action, citing a brutal incident just days before where Maoists had killed two tribals, labeling them as police informers.
The police chief elaborated that following the tribals’ murder, police forces were conducting a combing operation in the area when they were fired upon by the Maoists using sophisticated weaponry. The police returned fire, resulting in the deaths of the seven individuals, including a high-profile Maoist leader with a bounty of Rs 20 lakh.
The High Court, acknowledging the gravity of the accusations and the need for transparency, has scheduled another hearing for Tuesday. Meanwhile, an officer of DSP rank from a neighboring district has been appointed as the investigating officer to further probe the incident.
