Chhattisgarh: 2013 Edasmeta firing incident due to panic among security forces, says probe commission report

If the security forces had been well equipped with adequate self-defence gadgets and had better intelligence inputs and taken proper precautions, then possibly the firing could have been avoided, the report said.The report further stated that the association of any of the killed or injured persons to the Naxalite organization has not been proved as there is no satisfactory evidence in this regard.Even the state government had provided compensation to injured and kin of the deceased persons of the incident.

The one-member judicial commission that probed the 2013 Edasmeta incident in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district has concluded that security forces opened fire in “panic” on a gathering of people who were “unarmed”.

The report also underlined that none of those killed or injured in the firing were linked with Naxal outfits.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday tabled the findings of the judicial panel in the Assembly along with the action taken report.

Eight people, including three minors, were killed and four others injured in the alleged gun-battle between security forces and the ultras near Edasmeta village in the intervening night of May 17-18, 2013. A personnel of the elite CoBRA battalion of CRPF was also killed in the incident. The security forces had at the time claimed the encounter broke out after Naxals opened fire at them, and the then BJP government had formed a judicial commission headed by Justice (retired) VK Agrawal to probe the incident.

The commission, in its report in 'Hindi', pointed out that “it is not established the encounter took place with the Naxalites.. the incident took place after security personnel opened fire in panic on seeing people gathered around a fire (apparently bonfire) near Edesmeta, possibly assuming that they were members of Naxal outfit.” Security forces did not fire in self-defence but it appears it was done in “mistake” and “panic”, it added. “If the security forces had been well equipped with adequate self-defence gadgets and had better intelligence inputs and taken proper precautions, then possibly the firing could have been avoided,” the report said.

The report further stated that the association of any of the killed or injured persons to the Naxalite organization has not been proved as there is no satisfactory evidence in this regard.

''Even the state government had provided compensation to injured and kin of the deceased persons (of the incident). It is a well-established policy of the state government that no compensation is given to injured ultras or the kin of killed Naxals. Therefore, the state government has also not considered the people killed and injured in the encounter as Naxalites,'' it said.

“There is no material to show the people of the gathering were armed with firearms. So the question that they used firearms does not arise at all. There is a possibility the fatal injury caused to constable (Cobra commando) Dev Prakash was due to cross firing by his own squad members,” it said.

The report, which also pointed lapses into the probe conducted by local police, said, to avoid a repeat of such incidents, personnel should be trained so that they are familiar with social conditions, religious festivals and geographical condition of Bastar.

The report also called for strengthening the intelligence gathering mechanism and equipping the security forces with gadgets like bullet proof jackets and night vision devices.

The commission's findings were presented in the state cabinet meeting on September 8 last year. As per the government's action taken report, continuous efforts are being made to strengthen the intelligence gathering mechanism and it is proposed to set up a counter intelligence cell.

The state General Administration department has constituted a five-member committee to make recommendations for ensuring relief to affected families in the firing incident, the ATR said.

The ATR further said, ''Many times, the identity of the dead civilian/Naxalite is not ascertained or there is no concrete evidence of his links with the Naxalites. In such a situation, if the government gives compensation to the concerned family on humanitarian grounds or gets the injured treated, then it should not be considered as proof that they are not Naxalites or they are not related to them.'' The CBI is also probing the incident.