Odisha rights panel seeks report on Niyamgiri encounter death

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Mar 3:

The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) today served notices to RDC (Southern Division) and DIG (Southern-Western) seeking reports within four weeks on the death of a youth killed in an encounter by the police on February 27 in the forests of Niyamgiri area of Kalyansinghpur block in Rayagada district.

Police on Wednesday handed over the body of Manda Kadraka (20), who was killed in an encounter on February 27, to his elder brother Drika Kadraka. The body was sent to Parshali village under Kalyansinghpur police limits after Drika identified it at the District Headquarters Hospital earlier in the day.

Drika had submitted a letter to DSP of Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) in absence of Rayagada SP K Siba Subramani at district police office claiming that the person killed in the encounter was a Dongria Kondh of Dangamati village under Kalyansinghpur police limits and not a Maoist as claimed by the police.

Drika showing the photograph of Manda published in newspapers, on Wednesday confirmed that his younger brother was the one killed in the encounter.

In the letter, Drika demanded that a murder case must be initiated against the police responsible for Manda’s death.

Drika claimed that he and his brother Manda Kadraka had gone to collect salapa to the hill near their village early on February 27 morning and while they were on the way, a team of armed police came to them.

Seeing them, he ran away from the area but his brother could not run and the police later took him away, Drika said. Later he claimed to have heard gunshots and hiding in the forest saw the policemen returning from the area with a dead body and some books with them.

He said he ran to his village and informed the villagers, who went to the policemen and asked them to show the body, but they refused to do so.

He said he was in search of his brother since February 27 and finally came to know about his death after seeing his photo in the newspapers.

Reports said Manda was a student of Class VIII in Budhaguda Residential Ashram School under Kalyansingpur block in 2013-14. But, he discontinued studies in 2014-15 when the rebels restricted Dongria Kondh students from attending schools.