Police case against 121 tribals rested on a pair of trousers, bows & arrows | India News
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RAIPUR: Acquittal still doesn’t mean freedom for 13 of the 121 tribals exonerated by an NIA court of charges of assisting Maoists in the 2017 Burkapal ambush. They will remain behind bars on other charges.
After spending five years in jail for an offence they did not commit, 105 tribals are now on their way home. While acquitting them of aiding Maoists, the NIA court observed that the prosecution couldn’t prove any of the allegations against them.
Special NIA Judge Deepak Kumar Deshlehre observed that the prosecution couldn’t establish any link between the 121 tribals and Maoists. “The prosecution couldn’t establish the major question if the accused were present or identified to have been present on the spot. If analysed thoroughly, even the witness statements and seizures do not support the allegation that these undertrials were involved in the Maoist attack or had links with them.”
He noted that no “hazardous or inflammable weapons” were recovered from them, pointing out that police seized only a “camouflage trousers, bows and arrows and an indigenous bomb” from some of the tribals. Police had arrested 125 tribals between 2017 and 2019 for allegedly aiding Maoists in the ambush that killed 26 CRPF personnel. A woman and three juveniles are out on bail. And one suspect died in prison last year due to illness.
Out of the 118 tribals lodged in Jagdalpur jail, 105 were released on Saturday. They were charged under sections of UAPA, IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Chhattisgarh Public Security Act. Asked if Bastar police will appeal in Chhattisgarh high court, Bastar range IG P Sundarraj said the “judgment and legal prospects would be reviewed”.
After spending five years in jail for an offence they did not commit, 105 tribals are now on their way home. While acquitting them of aiding Maoists, the NIA court observed that the prosecution couldn’t prove any of the allegations against them.
Special NIA Judge Deepak Kumar Deshlehre observed that the prosecution couldn’t establish any link between the 121 tribals and Maoists. “The prosecution couldn’t establish the major question if the accused were present or identified to have been present on the spot. If analysed thoroughly, even the witness statements and seizures do not support the allegation that these undertrials were involved in the Maoist attack or had links with them.”
He noted that no “hazardous or inflammable weapons” were recovered from them, pointing out that police seized only a “camouflage trousers, bows and arrows and an indigenous bomb” from some of the tribals. Police had arrested 125 tribals between 2017 and 2019 for allegedly aiding Maoists in the ambush that killed 26 CRPF personnel. A woman and three juveniles are out on bail. And one suspect died in prison last year due to illness.
Out of the 118 tribals lodged in Jagdalpur jail, 105 were released on Saturday. They were charged under sections of UAPA, IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Chhattisgarh Public Security Act. Asked if Bastar police will appeal in Chhattisgarh high court, Bastar range IG P Sundarraj said the “judgment and legal prospects would be reviewed”.
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