Lessons from Burkapal’s acquittal

on April 24, 2017 Naxalites killed 25 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel Near Burkapal security camp in Sukma district. on 15th July this year A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court acquitted all 121 tribal people Who were held responsible for the death of the soldiers.

The police team consisted of 70 CRPF personnel and two from the district police force. They had been guarding the construction site of a culvert about a km from the security camp since 12 noon when they were ambushed by a large group of 200-250 alleged Maoists. The exchange of fire started at 12.55 pm and continued till around 2.30 pm.

editorial | A stinging indictment: on the acquittal of Chhattisgarh’s tribals in the 2017 ambush case

The Investigating Officer seized two non-electrical detonators and Codex wires (usually used in mining) from one accused and a locally manufactured HE bomb from another accused. Other seizures and seizures include bow and arrow, empty cartridges of SLR, INSAS and UBGL, cartridge pouches and camouflage less. The body of a slain Maoist was also recovered from the spot.

silence of judgment

The judgment said that five witnesses did not corroborate the Memorandum of Disclosure, Caesar Memo and Arrest Memo. Similarly, 15 other witnesses did not identify any of the accused persons. He showed ignorance about the incident and refused to give any statement to the police. It is surprising that only the dead Maoists were identified and not any other accused persons, mostly from Burkapal village or nearby villages. Only eight were from neighboring Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, and one from Telangana (and Andhra Pradesh from where most of the Maoist leaders were from). Although they were declared hostile, nothing relevant could be extracted from them. No reason was given as to why the prosecution witness (police) who recovered the detonator and Codex wire was not believed or disbelieved. This was a significant recovery as these explosive materials are not used by the police. It is surprising that as per the postmortem report the death of all the 25 security personnel (as evidence) was accepted as murder in nature but no attempt was made to link the recovery of explosive material with the type of injuries. was. security men. There is no mention in the judgment of any (expenditure) bullets or other material recovered during the post-mortem. Similarly, there is no reference to any forensic science investigation report of the material seized or recovered.

deficiency check

The accused persons were also charged with two sections (along with sections of the Indian Penal Code) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, meaning that those arrested were members of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation. considered and support their activities. However, in view of the verdict, none of the 121 accused have been shown to be members of any specific formation of Maoist such as military battalion or company or platoon or local guerrilla squad or militia or political organization or Janata government. , Maoists also have various Federation (Associations) such as Dandakarnay Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangh and Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangh and Chetna Natya Manch. In the absence of any such specific additional evidence to substantiate the charges, it was difficult for the court to convict him under the UAPA. The Maoists have their own so-called constitution, in which the procedure for giving membership is detailed. Since the punishment under these sections is imprisonment up to 10 years, the investigating officer should have produced some documents or other evidence to substantiate his case. Significantly, the movement of Maoists battalion number one (led by a member of the Dandakarnaya Special Zonal Committee and the absconding Hidmal) is generally found in this area. Apart from this, many other organizations are also active in this field.

Second, the judgment does not refer to any forensic science laboratory reports being produced by the police in favor of the significant recovery of Codex wires and detonators, the possession of which itself is punishable under the Explosive Substances Act 1908. It’s also worth noting that detonators do not have a unique identification number. Hence, it becomes difficult to reach the main culprit, who supplied these explosive materials to the Maoists for illegitimate use.

The district police established the Burkapal camp in May 2013, but it was taken over by the CRPF later in the same year. It is one of the 12 security camps that fall on the 56-km Dornapal-Jagargunda road. The area is heavily infested with IEDs, trap holes (filled with iron spikes) and vulnerable to ambushes. On 6 April 2010, 76 CRPF personnel were martyred near Mukaram, about 3 km from Burkapal. The area is a Maoist stronghold, which is part of their Dakshin Bastar division. In many parts of the region, Maoists claim to have waged a mobile war because the security camps are not large enough to dominate the surrounding area. However, with several security camps being set up in this area too, it is expected that the ‘base area’ of the Maoists will gradually disappear. Till then the security forces will have to keep an eye on their strategy. It is well known that the Maoists launch strategic counter-offensive operations every year from February-March to May-June, during which they organize themselves into various commands and attack security forces. Therefore, there is a need to take all possible precautions to avoid falling prey to the Maoists.

a challenge

It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is a challenge in itself to conduct a proper investigation in areas where witnesses do not come forward to support the police fearing adverse consequences for the Maoists. Therefore, the police should, wherever possible, use more forensic and technical tools like audio-video to record the statements and seizures during investigation. The surrendered activists of the area may be useful in verifying the location of the accused persons in the Maoist organisation. A checklist should be prepared to ensure that there is sufficient evidence to support each allegation. Senior officers should ensure that there is no lapse in investigation and standard operating procedure is followed by the field officers. The acquittal of all the accused persons in such a massive attack not only raises questions about the investigative skills of the local police but also the real impact of such police action on the ground.

RK Vij is former Special DGP of Chhattisgarh and views are personal