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2013 Edesmeta Massacre: CBI takes over probe, registers case

New Delhi: The CBI has now registered a case in connection with the killing of up to eight tribal people and the death of one police personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on May 7, 2013, during a combined operation by state police, CRPF, and CoBRA.

While the Chhattisgarh government had formed a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to probe the incident, often referred to as the 'Edesmeta massacre', the Supreme Court had earlier this year

directed the CBI to take over the case and conduct the investigation in an expeditious manner.

The Apex court had also directed that the CBI team probing the case should not have any officer from the state of Chhattisgarh.

The Supreme Court had earlier heard a plea filed by Degree Prasad Chouhan, a government school teacher in Chhattisgarh, who had initially requested the formation of an SIT.

The Bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice MR Shah also directed the State of Chhattisgarh to file an affidavit informing the court about the progress made by the SIT.

Pursuant to this order, the Additional Superintendent of Police in Bijapur filed an affidavit, saying that only five witnesses had been examined by the SIT, other than the ones examined by the investigating officer earlier.

The court had said that it was not satisfied with the SIT's progress since 2014 and entrusted the probe to the CBI.

The incident refers to a shootout in Edesmeta village in Bijapur district, where a combing operation by state police, CRPF, and CoBRA allegedly led to an encounter with Maoists in the area.

Then Additional Director General of Police in the area had reportedly said that eight villagers had died in cross-firing, some of whom were allegedly Naxals.

The police personnel who lost his life in the incident was identified as Devprakash

Singh, of the CoBRA battalion 208.

Interestingly, the CBI's FIR in the case does not mention the deaths of the villagers during this incident. It refers to the incident as one where "an attack on a police party which resulted in the death of one police personnel".

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