Chhattisgarh: Man killed in Narayanpur encounter is Naxal, say cops; kin claim he was farmer

In fact, my family is a victim of Maoist violence. Rainu, who is posted as constable in Narayanpurs DRG unit, said his deceased brother had applied for the post of constable in the ongoing recruitment for Bastar Fighters and was preparing for it.The deceaseds wife Manbati Nureti also debunked the police claim and said her husband was a farmer who never possessed firearms.After having dinner on Sunday night, my husband left home saying he was going out for a walk.

A Naxal was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Monday, police said, though his kin, including a brother who is a policeman, claimed he was innocent and had no links to the outlawed movement.

They said the slain man was preparing to get recruited in Bastar Fighters, a specialised unit of Chhattisgarh police being raised in every district of the Bastar region to tackle Left Wing Extremism.

Two separate IED blasts had been triggered by Naxals recently in Bharanda police station limits and there were fresh inputs that ultras may execute some kind of untoward incident on Republic Day, Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Girija Shankar Jaiswal said.

In view of reports of Maoist movement in the area, a team of District Reserve Guard had launched an area domination operation towards Bharanda, Bhainsgaon, Ghotia, Uchchakot and Temrugaon villages late Sunday night, he said.

''At around 1:30 am, a group of Naxals opened fire on the patrolling team near a culvert close to Bharanda village, leading to a gunfight. After the exchange of fire ended, the body of a Naxal was recovered along with a muzzle loading gun, three cooker bombs, explosives etc in the morning,'' he said.

The police identified the slain ultra as Manuram Nureti (26), presently residing in Bharanda village.

However, Nureti's elder brother Rainu Ram Nureti said, ''My brother was not a Naxal. In fact, my family is a victim of Maoist violence.'' Rainu, who is posted as constable in Narayanpur's DRG unit, said his deceased brother had applied for the post of constable in the ongoing recruitment for Bastar Fighters and was preparing for it.

The deceased's wife Manbati Nureti also debunked the police claim and said her husband was a farmer who never possessed firearms.

''After having dinner on Sunday night, my husband left home saying he was going out for a walk. He was carrying a gulel (slingshot used by tribals for bird hunting) He was wearing my sweater and also slipper. We are farmers. He never possessed firearms. The police's claim he was involved in the gunfight is false,” she said.

In a letter to the Narayanpur collector, she and local villagers sought justice.

However, Narayanpur Additional Superintendent of Police Neeraj Chandrakar said such allegations are leveled under pressure from Naxals.

''The slain Naxal's brother is a DRG constable who had joined the force after quitting the outlawed outfit. Nureti may not have told his brother he was a Naxal. He was killed in the gunfight at around 1:30 am,'' he said.

''He was definitely a Naxal supporter and had been a part of the outlawed outfit. Therefore, a firearm was also recovered from the spot,” Chandrakar added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)