Securitymen involved in naked genocide in Dantewada: Jogi

     Raipur, January 14, 2009: Former Congress Chief Minister Ajit Jogi today claimed the security forces in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh were involved in a naked genocide and in fake encounter killed 17 villagers.

     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, Jogi told a press conference here at his official residence.

     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.

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

     Saying that the magistrate probe had no credibility, the senior Congress leader 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.