Chhattisgarh police cremate bodies of slain Telugu Maoists, defying AP HC order

Hyderabad: Despite the Andhra Pradesh High Court passing orders to handover the body of the slain general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) Nambala Keshav Rao to his family members, the Chhattisgarh police cremated his mortal remains along with other Maoists from Telangana and AP who were killed alongside him on Monday, May 27.

As per reports, Chhattisgarh police stated on Monday evening that their family members haven’t claimed their bodies.

In an interview with a local TV channel, Keshav Rao’s elder brother, who retired as a senior IAS officer, explained the agonising struggle that he and his entire family had to go through while trying hopelessly to claim his mortal remains.

Despite having court orders to claim the body, Keshav Rao’s brothers received no help from the Srikakulam superintendent of police. When they went to Chhattisgarh to bring the body back, they were instead threatened and told to leave the state. He explained how, because of this, his family was denied their right to have a final glimpse of Keshav Rao, who had joined the revolutionary path 45 years ago.

He added they received a call from Andhra Pradesh minister K Atchannaidu, whom he referred to as a friend, ordering them to immediately return home without claiming Keshav Rao’s body.

“I’m 72 years old now. I’ve served the government for over 35 years, and today I suffer from high blood pressure and have survived two surgeries. What more do you want from me? Why don’t you just shoot me and my entire family, label us as traitors, and cremate us?” he questioned with emotion and rage.

He said that he had never supported the path taken by Keshav Rao, and had also tried convincing the latter while he was lodged in Srikakulam jail in 1987, to return home and find some job, as he had a master’s in technology (MTech).

‘Murder of Dharma,’ say civil society organisations

Civil society organisations and communist parties strongly condemned the action of the BJP-led Central government and Chhattisgarh government, terming it “the murder of dharma.”

“Have they even read the Ramayana? Read the ‘Yuddhakanda’ where after killing Ravana, when Vibheeshan breaks down crying and wonders who would cremate the Ravana Bharma who had no progeny, Rama tells him that Ravana was a great warrior and an enlightened person, and enmity should end after a person’s death,” said Communist Party of India (CPI) secretary and Kothagudem MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao, addressing the media along with other activists on Tuesday.

He urged the Supreme Court to take the case suo motu and conduct a judicial inquiry into all the killings in Chhattisgarh in the name of ‘Operation Kagaar.’

He also sought direction from the Supreme Court to the Centre and the state governments to hold talks with the Maoists. He opined that a plebiscite should be conducted to know how many people approved of such killings currently happening in Chhattisgarh and other states, and how many would disapprove of what the Centre was doing.

Questioning on what basis such an immoral and illegal cremation would be justified, Professor G Haragopal said that the Centre was crossing all its limits in its hurry to let the natural resources in the Adivasi areas be exploited by the big corporations.

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Day after encounter, Centre permits clearing of forests in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh

Just a day after the encounter in Abujhmad forests on 21 May, where Keshav Rao and 26 of his accomplices were gunned down, Haragopal said that the union ministry of forests, environment and climate change has permitted to clearing of 937 hectares of forest land by felling 1.27 lakh trees in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

He also said that permissions were granted to an iron ore extraction company to fell 2 lakh trees in Chhattisgarh.

Questioning what was preventing the Centre from holding peace talks with the Maoists, who have proposed it, he reminded that even in the past, efforts were made to understand why there was discontent among the Adivasis living in the agency areas.

“The planning commission had constituted a committee to study their issues by appointing SR Shankaran, Nandini Sundar, Balagopal and others, who submitted a report to the then UPA government. Sonia Gandhi had called us for a meeting to understand the issues of Adivasis in 2013. There have been efforts to understand the movements on one side, and another to crush those movements,” he said.

“The Adivasi movements are not new. From Birsa Munda to Komaram Bheem, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Ramji Gond, they all fought against the exploitation of natural resources and the rights of the Adivasis,” he pointed out.

“If you think this is development, why can’t you talk to the Adivasis and ask them why they are waging these movements?” he asked.

On the police’s reasoning that they were unable to hand over the bodies because there could be a law and order situation during the funeral processions, Prof Haragopal asked, “If there are thousands attending the funeral processions, doesn’t that mean there are many who respect them for what they stand for? In that case, what is stopping you from holding talks with them?”

Gandhi’s quote on the nature of human bloodthirsty tigers

Urging people to respond to the unconstitutional act of the police, Prof Haragopal quoted Mahatma Gandhi from his book Hindu Swarajya.

“If the tiger used to human blood can change its nature, I will accept what you are proposing,” Gandhi had said, responding to a question about discontinuing the freedom struggle if the British agreed to change their ways.

“When the state crosses all its constitutional limits and starts abusing its power the way it wants to, and if the people start accepting it, it won’t stop there,” Haragopal added.

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