The circumstances under which the death of Maoists Karthik and Manivasakam had occurred and the causes of their deaths shall be investigated, ordered the Kerala High Court. The court also ordered that it be found out whether the police officers who had participated in the encounter committed any offence in relation to the death of the duo. It was on a petition filed by the relatives of the Maoists that the court issued the order.
The court vacated an interim order restraining the State from cremating the dead bodies of the two deceased as it found that there was no necessity to preserve the bodies further; the post-mortem reports contained the necessary details on the injuries sustained by them. The bodies shall be dealt with by the authorities concerned as per the prevailing rules and norms, the court ordered.
The judge also made it clear that the court had not even remotely expressed any view regarding the circumstances under which or the manner in which the death of the two occurred. The petitioners had contended that the Maoists were killed in fake encounter.
