Cong demands CBI probe into Singaram killing

     Raipur, January 19, 2009: Main opposition Congress today handed over a memorandum to the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram demanding a CBI probe into the killing of 17 tribals in Singaram of Dantewada district by police.

      A Congress delegation today handed over a memorandum to the Union Home Minister demanding CBI probe into the Singaram killing, former Home Minister and senior Congress leader Nand Kumar Patel told ChhattisgarhTopNews.Com here.

      AICC Secretary Mirza Irshad Beig, PCC Presidents Dhanendra Sahu and Charan Das Mahant, Leader of Opposition Ravindra Choubey besides Patel met Chidambaram at the Airport and handed over the memorandum.

      The Union Home Minister had invited the Congress delegation to have a detailed discussion on the issue, he said.

     Congress party had earlier on Saturday last also given memorandum to the Governor E S L Narasimhan demanding an independent probe into the killing of Singaram.

     Singaram incident was an alleged naked genocide and in an alleged fake encounter 13 male and four female tribals were shot dead by the security forces on January 8 last and the police subsequently claimed the killed people were naxalites, who attacked the security forces and in counter action, they were killed, former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi told a press conference here last week.

     The villagers were actually working in the near by paddy field when about 250 security forces and Salwa Judum activists came and subjected the innocent villagers to all kind of atrocities and their valuables were also looted before about 25 of them were taken to a near by place, he said.

     In that place 17 of them were shot dead and even before killing the people, some of the women were raped, Jogi claimed adding after verifying the matter with multiple sources he had decided to raise the matter.