Police did not set 160 bastar houses ablaze in 2011, says IGP

RAIPUR: Amid mounting pressure by opposition parties and civil rights groups on Chhattisgarh government for fixing responsibility after Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) indicting state police for arson, Bastar's inspector General of Police SRP Kalluri on Sunday maintained that police did not set houses on fire during anti-Naxalite operation in 2011. He added that he felt that police could not present its case properly before the central investigating agency.
"I remember it very well. Whatever has happened, happened under the guidance. I want to tell few leaders that I am not a coward. Now whatever happens, first it should be on me. I was the senior superintendent of police at that time," Kalluri told reporters in Bastar. The IG was apparently referring to the opposition Congress demand for his arrest after the CBI registered case against policemen for arson and causing grievous hurt for allegedly setting ablaze 160 houses during an anti-naxalite operation that took place March 11 and March 16, 2011 in three tribal villages of Morpalli, Tadmetla and Timmapuram, which was then part of Dantewada district and now in newly created Sukma district.
"Anyone can see the FIR. Parties of security forces went under the guidance of SSP. I am responsible. It was a major operation. It was not a joke or a game. We have to rise above politics and see it. National Human Rights Commission wanted us to expedite investigations and we informed it that it's very difficult to do it in that region. Yet, we were asked to complete probe within a time frame. We tried several times and there were encounters," he explained.
"When we got final ultimatum, we had sent a 421-member team of security forces to Tadmetla. This Tadmetla is the same area where the Maoists had ambushed and killed 76 CRPF personnel in April 2010. When I was SSP, Dantewada, 108 constables were killed by the Maoists in a short span of 30 days. This the same area, falling under the jurisdiction of same police station," he added.
Kalluri said, "When forces enter such an area, a 'yudh' (war) is inevitable. Firing will take place. There will be bombardment. When bombardment takes place during peak summer, there will be fire and it will engulf hutments. We never said that houses were not burnt but it happened during police action but it's not true that police set houses ablaze. During this police action, our people were martyred."
The Bastar IG said, "It's not fair to create confusion to demoralize the forces engaged in the task of maintaining internal security. It's injustice and an anti-national act."
After the CBI probe report into the Tadmetla incident, state Congress president Bhupesh Baghel had demanded arrest of Bastar IG SRP Kalluri accusing him of being responsible for the incident and also for other blatant human rights violations by the security forces in the region.