“I want to see my uncle's body”

Deepa, Kishenji's niece, requests that she be taken to West Bengal

The niece of Maoist leader Koteshwara Rao alias Kishenji, who is believed to have been killed in an encounter on Thursday, wants to come to West Bengal and identify the body.

“I want to see the body of my uncle. Since the police have not identified the body yet, I plead with the government to please take me there to see him,” Deepa, the daughter of Kishenji's brother, told The Hindu over telephone from Hyderabad.

Ms. Deepa said that her grandmother, Kishenji's mother, was an 85-year-old cancer patient and will not be able to undertake the journey from Paddapalli in Karimnagar district in Andhra Pradesh — Kishenji's hometown. Her 65-year-old father was also ailing and would not be able to travel.

“I have seen him when I was a child, but I will be able to recognise him,” Ms. Deepa asserted before breaking down into tears. She said that the last time she saw her uncle was when she was a five-year-old child.

‘Stick to NHRC norms'

Revolutionary writer and a personal friend of Kishenji, Varavara Rao, demanded that the guidelines laid down by the National Human Rights Commission that dictate that the body be preserved until a post-mortem is carried out and is properly identified be observed.

Mr. Rao also demanded that the encounter be booked as a culpable homicide and a case filed under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

Leading human rights activist in West Bengal Sujata Bhadra endorsed Mr. Rao's demands.