Eight exhumed bodies falsify cops' claim

May. 9th, 2007
by Our Correspondent
BIJAPUR, May 8 IN a major development in the Santoshpur fake encounter case, the authorities have exhumed two more bodies of tribals, taking the total number of bodies to eight against the police claim of five.

The body parts, soil and clothes of the buried have been sent to Raipur for forensic examination. According to sources, two bodies of Kodium Bujja (23) son of Kudium Billa of Santoshpur and Bhogam Pandu Kamlu of Bhogamguda were exhumed on Tuesday morning. Accordingly, the post-mortem of all the eight bodies was done in two days.

However, the police remained tight-lipped about the post-mortem report. Sources here said that bullets and injury marks inflicted by sharp-edged weapons were found on all the eight bodies.

Of the two bodies exhumed on Tuesday, Kamlu was killed in December last year. It was suspected that five tribals were killed in the alleged fake encounter at in Santoshpur on March 31.

Sources claimed that of the eight bodies exhumed, seven were reportedly buried 45 days ago. The exhumed bodies were of Kodiya Bojja of Santoshpur, Kudiam Moosa, Madvi Mangu, Madkam Sanku, Modyam Lakhma, Modyam Fagu, Bhogam Kamlu and Markam Soma.

The exhumation and post-mortem of the bodies were performed in the presence of Bhopalpatnam Nayab Tehsildar, Dantewada DMO Dr. Gangesh, ASP (Bijapur) Ankit Garg and Bijapur SHO Umesh Mishra. Meanwhile, none of the family members of tribal deserting Santoshpur and Ponjer returned to their houses in the respective villages. They reportedly took shelter in Bijapur, Gangalur and Cherpal relief camps.

(source: The Hitavada May 9)