Exhume and conduct post mortem of Singaram victims: HC

     Bilaspur, January 29, 2009: Chhattisgarh High Court today ordered for exhume of the bodies of eight victims of controversial Singaram incident in Dantewada district and conduct of post mortem.

     Justice Satish Agnihotri ordered for exhume of the bodies and conduct of the post mortem by experts on February 1 after a petition was filed on January 19, urging for a CBI probe into the January 8 incident in Singaram area of Dantewada district and action against the policemen who are involved in that.

     Meanwhile, the court also granted time of ten days to the state government to file its reply on the matter.

     On behalf of the tribals a petition was filed stating that the Singaram incident was a fake encounter in which 13 male and four female were killed by police in the name of naxalites-police gun battle.

     Besides demanding a CBI probe into the incident, they had asked for action against the officials, involved in that incident and also proper compensation to the families of the victims.

     Securitymen were involved in naked genocide in Dantewada, claimed senior Congress leader Ajit Jogi in a press conference on January 14 at Raipur.

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

     Among the killed were four close relatives of Konta Congress MLA Kawashi Lakhma, he had said adding till date no independent probe team had reached the spot although the administration said it had ordered for a magistrate inquiry.

     Stating that the magistrate probe had no credibility, the former Chief Minister demanded a probe by an Assembly Committee or by the CBI, if the state government wanted a transparency.

     He also claimed the villagers were punished for not supporting the Salwa Judum.