Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Jul 19:

A public interest litigation (PIL) demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Kandhamal firing incident was filed in the Orissa High Court today. The PIL was filed by Right to Information (RTI) activist Dr. Sunil Kumar Rath.

Kandhamal encounter

State Home Secretary, DG Police, IG (Southern) and Kandhamal SP have been respondents in the PIL.

Since no one has been arrested so far despite the incident happening quite a few days ago, keeping this in view, the petitioner prayed for a CBI probe into the incident.

The petitioner has further prayed for suitable compensation to the family members of the deceased victims and a government job at least for one member each from the victim families.

Notably, five innocent Adivasis including a 13-month-old child were killed and seven others of Gumudumaha village were injured in police firing during an anti-Maoist operation in the Kurtamgarh forest in Kandhamal district on the night of July 8.

These people were returning from Baliguda block headquarters town after drawing their wages under MNREGS when tragedy struck them.

The auto-rickshaws in which they were travelling to their homes got stuck in the mud due to heavy rains and were trying to push the vehicles out of the muck in the flickering light from the auto-rickshaws headlights before they could realize anything  they were allegedly hit by bullets without any provocation.