Maoists pull jawan out of bus, kill him; inquiry ordered
19 Oct 2014 10:44 PM GMT
Police officials said Sidar had been sick and might have been trying to seek medical help and that he was unarmed at the time of the inicident. RK Vij, additional director general of police, anti-Naxal operations, Chhattisgarh, said an inquiry has been ordered into why Sidar had been allowed to leave the camp on his own and the constable’s company commander has been asked to furnish answers.
‘If there was a need for Sidar to leave the camp, then his departure should have preceded with a road-opening police party,’ said Vij.
According to Vij, between five and seven alleged Maoists boarded the bus between the Timilwada and Pushwada camps, forced Sidhar off the bus, shot him and then left his body nearby. No demands – for example the release of other Maoist cadres currently in custody – were made prior to the killing. Vij said that is probably because there are currently no high-ranking Maoist cadres in custody in Chhattisgarh, and that the higher-ups who have surrendered have done so not in Chhattisgarh but in Andhra Pradesh.
Sidar, when he was shot, was not in uniform but in plain clothes. Vij said that it is probable that a lookout was watching the Timilwada camp and that when he saw a policeman board the bus, he informed the Maoists that a “policeman wearing a red shirt” had got onto the bus travelling from Dornapal to Chintalnar.
‘The red shirt was probably what identified Sidar,’ said Vij.
Sidar’s body was sent to Raipur on Saturday evening, where Vij said it would be given a guard of honour, and from there further to his hometown Raigarh. Vij added that all dues owed to Sidar would be paid to his family.
‘If there was a need for Sidar to leave the camp, then his departure should have preceded with a road-opening police party,’ said Vij.
According to Vij, between five and seven alleged Maoists boarded the bus between the Timilwada and Pushwada camps, forced Sidhar off the bus, shot him and then left his body nearby. No demands – for example the release of other Maoist cadres currently in custody – were made prior to the killing. Vij said that is probably because there are currently no high-ranking Maoist cadres in custody in Chhattisgarh, and that the higher-ups who have surrendered have done so not in Chhattisgarh but in Andhra Pradesh.
Sidar, when he was shot, was not in uniform but in plain clothes. Vij said that it is probable that a lookout was watching the Timilwada camp and that when he saw a policeman board the bus, he informed the Maoists that a “policeman wearing a red shirt” had got onto the bus travelling from Dornapal to Chintalnar.
‘The red shirt was probably what identified Sidar,’ said Vij.
Sidar’s body was sent to Raipur on Saturday evening, where Vij said it would be given a guard of honour, and from there further to his hometown Raigarh. Vij added that all dues owed to Sidar would be paid to his family.
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