A day after Maoist leader, CP Jaleel was killed in police firing at a resort in Lakkidi, Wayanad, the family of the deceased has demanded a judicial probe.
Two of Jaleel’s brothers, CP Jishad and CP Rasheed, alleged that the incident was a fake encounter and that the police had caught their brother and killed him.
Jaleel was killed in a police encounter after a 4 member gang of Maoists attempted to break into a luxury resort in Wayanad.
Jaleel’s brothers stated that only the police version of the events was available now.
Speaking to the media, they had said that the firing began at 9:45 pm on Wednesday night and Jaleel’s death was confirmed at 4:30 am.
Questioning the gap between the police firing and their brother’s death, Jaleel’s kin wondered if the police had waited for their brother to bleed to death, or if they had picked him up and killed him later.
“According to media reports, another man Velumurukan, too had been injured in the firing. But no such person is admitted to any hospitals in the state till now. If the man is in the police custody, they should provide treatment for him and not wait for him to die,” the kin told Manorama news.
Jaleel’s family have also demanded a magisterial probe into his death. They said that the police agreed to return Jaleel’s body to the family after conducting an autopsy.
The brothers confirmed that Jaleel was an active member of the CPI(Maoist) and had not been in contact with the family for the last three years. They also said that Maoist cadres usually wore olive green fatigues while inside the forest. However, Jaleel was wearing a blue shirt. In response to the police claims stating that the gang had demanded money from the resort, the family said that Maoist cadres would not have enough ammunition to fire through the night.
The family also reportedly emphasised that there have been no cases against Rasheed so so far and the police had never even issued a lookout notice against him. The family was also allegedly not allowed to see Jaleel’s family till Thursday afternoon.