SC orders CBI probe into killing of tribals in Chhattisgarh

‘No progress in probe by State govt.’

The Supreme Court has ordered a CBI investigation into the alleged killing of eight members of a tribal community by combined forces at Edesmeta village in Chhattisgarh in 2013.

In a recent order, a Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and M.R. Shah asked the CBI Director to ensure that the probe team does not have a CBI officer from the State. The court listed the case after six months.

The court ordered the CBI probe after the inquiry into the deaths conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Chhattisgarh government failed to make any headway in the past five years.

“We are of the opinion that more than five years have passed without any effective investigation or inquiry being done in the matter of the death of tribals in Chhattisgarh. We are convinced that the matter pertaining to the inquiry should be referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for expeditious investigation,” the court directed.

The incident occurred on May 17, 2013. It is alleged that eight members of a tribe belonging to the Madia/Koya community were killed in firing by combined forces at Edesmeta village in Bijapur district.

Seeks compensation

The court order came on a petition filed by a primary schoolteacher, Degree Prasad Chouhan. He had sought the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising officer/officers from outside Chhattisgarh to “investigate and prosecute the members of the combined forces for the alleged massacre”.

Mr. Chouhan has also sought a court directive to the government to pay compensation to the victims and their families.

After perusing an affidavit filed by the Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police, the court realised that the SIT investigation had hardly progressed. “It is stated in the affidavit that apart from the witnesses who were examined by the investigation officer earlier, only five witnesses could be examined by the SIT. We are not satisfied with the progress made by the SIT from 2014 till date,” the court observed in its order.