Manjeri sessions court in Kerala has ordered not to cremate the bodies of slain ‘Maoists’ Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha, who died in an encounter in the Karulayi forests of Nilambur, Malappuram last Thursday.
The court decision was based on an appeal filed by a few human rights activists alleging foul play in the killings.
Activists argued in the court that cremating bodies is equivalent to destruction of evidence in this case. The court has agreed to hear the case on Tuesday.
Families of the victims, social activists and other Maoist leaders had earlier called it a fake encounter.
In the postmortem report, it was revealed that there were around 19 bullet shot wounds in the bodies of the killed Maoists.
Suspicions arose as no police personnel were injured in the said encounter and the victim’s bodies were not shown to the media even after more than 24 hours.
Moreover, a Madhyamam report reveals that a Maoist leader said that Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha were physically unwell and were unable to run when the police arrived.
“They both were on treatment. Ajitha had undergone a surgery and she had low eyesight. They were not able to run. It was a cruel brutal murder,” Madhyamam quotes Maoist leader Ashraf.
Ashraf also revealed that including Ajitha and Kuppu, there were four Maoist activists in the camp.
“Around 60 policemen attacked the camp of four. They did not ask to surrender,” Ashraf says.
All this has strengthened the allegations against the LDF government and the police.
Five Maoists, arrested by Q branch police in May 2015 at Karumathampatty, who were produced in a Coimbatore court, also came down heavily on the killing of their two leaders. They claimed that the encounter was fake.
Kuppu and Ajitha’s relatives have refused to take their bodies back to their hometown alleging foul play.