6 missing tribals produced in SC

The Chhattisgarh Government on Monday produced before the Supreme Court six of the 12 persons who went missing immediately after filing a petition seeking CBI probe into the alleged killings of over 10 villagers by the security forces in Dantewada district during the anti-Naxal operations.

The Chhattisgarh Government on Monday produced before the Supreme Court six of the 12 persons who went missing immediately after filing a petition seeking CBI probe into the alleged killings of over 10 villagers by the security forces in Dantewada district during the anti-Naxal operations.

HT Image

A bench headed by Justice B. Sudershan Reddy directed Delhi’s district judge to record the statements of the six tribals who were produced following an SC direction passed on February 8. The production order was passed following allegations that the police officials had kidnapped the petitioners.

Subsequent to the SC order district judge G.P. Mittal recorded their statements in the presence of their advocate and the counsel representing Chhattis-garh government and Union of India. The judge, however, declared the proceedings would not take place in the open court.

Appearing for Chhattisgarh government, Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told the court while the government has been able to locate six of the 12 persons, the others appeared to have crossed over to Andhra.

As the six persons were produced in the court, Kumar’s counsel Collin Gonsalves told the bench that the state police had been keeping them in custody for the last 45 days and it was not proper to let them record their statements.

Gonsalves said that all the six appeared visibly terrified and urged the court they must be allowed to stay with civil right groups like one headed by Mohini Giri. But Subramanium opposed the plea saying that this would amount to giving the petitioners an opportunity to tutor the tribals.