The dead body of a tribal girl from Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, who was allegedly raped and killed before being branded a Maoist by the police, was exhumed on Saturday and its second post mortem was conducted as ordered by the Bilaspur high court.
The police had claimed that Madkam Hidme, an alleged member of Kistaram area platoon of the Maoists, was killed in an “encounter” on June 13, a claim disputed by the family members of the deceased.
The family members and the Aam Adami Party (AAP) leaders had moved the Bilaspur high court accusing the police of “rape and murder” of Madkam Hidme.
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As ordered by the High Court, the dead body was exhumed in the presence of the family members of Madkam Himde and advocate Nihal Singh Rathod.
The post mortem was conducted at Maharani Hospital in Jagadalpur district headquarters of Bastar.
However, the advocate and the family members were not present when the second post mortem was conducted on Saturday.
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The dead body was identified by AAP leader Sanket Thakur who is a co-petitioner in the case.
The high court has directed the authorities to submit the second post mortem report by June 27.
The alleged fake encounter has already become an embarrassment for the state government as the high court order was followed by the demand of judicial inquiry by senior politicians in the state.
The leader of opposition in Chhattisgarh assembly Mr. T.S. Singh Deo has written to the Chief Minister demanding a judicial inquiry into the case and former Chhattisgarh CM and newly formed Chhattisgarh Janata Congress’s supremo Ajit Jogi has warned of “direct battle” to give justice to Madkam Hidme.
The police had stopped the Congress’s and AAP’s fact-finding teams from visiting Gumpad village of Madkam Himde .
“By not allowing fact-finding teams to visit the village, the police have proved that it was a fake encounter and Madkam Hidme was raped and killed,” AAP leader Soni Sori has alleged.
The photos of the Madkam Hidme, released by some senior police officers in Bastar after the encounter on June 13, have also raised many questions.
“Her mother has claimed that Madkam Hidme had two bullet injuries on her dead body but the photo released by the police clearly shows that there were no blood stains on the Maoist uniform she was shown to be wearing. The first post mortem was video recorded by the authorities but they did not produce it before the court,” alleged Mr. Sanket Thakur.