Two ‘guests’ among 10 villagers killed Pidiya ‘fake encounter’, allege activists

Raipur: Tribal activists on Monday reiterated their allegation of a fake encounter in Pidiya village and claimed that 10 of the 12 killed by security forces on May 10 were innocent villagers, including two who were ‘guests’.
According to the activists of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, the villagers were “chased and killed” by security forces while collecting tendu leaves.They claimed six villagers, including a 15-year-old boy, were injured, and that police rounded up 50 villagers, some of whom were arrested.
“On the one hand, the chief minister is advocating dialogue with Maoists, while on the other, he applauds security forces and overlooks the killing of innocent civilians. Dialogue isn’t possible in such an atmosphere. The killing of even one innocent person is a serious incident, and we demand that the govt ensure that no innocent, unarmed person is killed by security forces in Bastar,” the activists said in a statement.
At a press conference in Raipur, activist Bela Bhatia and former legislator Manish Kunjam alleged that govt has not responded to numerous complaints, “creating a climate of fear in Bastar villages”. Whenever govt has admitted to “killing innocent villagers”, they attribute it to cross-fire, while villagers insist there was no encounter at all, they added.
“Killing any unarmed person, regardless of whether they are a Maoist leader, is wrong,” the organisation said. “Security forces should only fire in self-defence, but they are killing people on mere suspicion of being Maoists, which is illegal,” Bhatia said.
Police deny the charges and say those killed in Pidiya were Maoists, many of whom carried bounties. CM Vishnu Deo Sai has backed up security forces, praising them for the encounter. Maoists have admitted that two of those killed in Pidiya — Punem Kallu and Uika Budhu — were PLGA cadres and had gone to the village to recuperate from illness.
State Congress chief Deepak Baij has written to deputy CM and home minister Vijay Sharma that villagers have told a Congress fact-finding committee that it was a fake encounter. In response, Sharma said that those labelled ‘innocent’ faced cases of murder and attempted murder, many of which date back to 2021-2022 in the Congress regime.
“Putting political differences aside, all parties should support efforts to restore peace in Bastar. It’s wrong to politicize it when security forces are engaged in development-related work in Bastar,” Sharma said.
Baij said: “When witnesses and villagers are alleging a fake encounter, what is preventing govt from investigating it? Let a high court judge-monitored probe clear up the picture. Congress is equally worried about restoring peace in Bastar, but not at the cost of innocent villagers,” Baij said in his letter. “A tribal never lies and if locals are making this allegation, then a probe is expected. The home minister is giving background details of six persons killed in the encounter but what about others?” he asked.