Tribal affairs minister calls encounter 'unacceptable'

In a clear indication of growing unease within the Congress party over last week's anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh in which 19 alleged Maoists were killed, tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo on Tuesday termed the action "completely unacceptable".

In a clear indication of growing unease within the Congress party over last week's anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh in which 19 alleged Maoists were killed, tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo on Tuesday termed the action "completely unacceptable".

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Deo's comments echo the Chhattisgarh Congress state unit's view that the encounter by the state police and the CRPF in Bijapur district was "completely fake".

Deo said he will raise the issue with home minister P Chidambaram.

"I am getting inputs from various sources. We have to get to the truth. The state government does not have any authority to call such an action," the minister said.

"We are trying to get further concrete information on the event and it will be done as early as possible. Then I will discuss it with my colleague in the government," Deo said.

He termed as "notorious", the Chhattisgarh government's record in conducting anti-naxal operations.

On the naxalites reportedly using tribals as human shields to target security forces, he said, "These things are completely not acceptable to anyone. But at the same time indiscriminate firing by security forces is also wrong."