NEW DELHI: Chhattisgarh Police is purportedly not keen on handing over the body of slain CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju - killed in an encounter last week at Narayanpur in the state - to his "family" amid fears that a public funeral , left to his kin, may unnecessarily end up glorifying the top Maoist mastermind behind the brutal killing of hundreds of security personnel and innocent tribals.
Sources in Chhattisgarh Police said Basavaraju is survived by his stepmother and brothers in his native place in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district. His brother and few cousins have approached Chhattisgarh Police over the last few days to claim his body for performing last rites in Andhra Pradesh. Chhattisgarh Police is verifying the claims and will consider all aspects before taking a final call, TOI has learned.
Senior officials hinted that Chhattisgarh Police may take a cue from Jammu and Kashmir, where, as per standard practice since 2019, bodies of terrorists killed in encounters with security forces are not handed over to their kin but laid to rest by police, unmarked, at designated burial grounds in the presence of only a few immediate family members. This is to guard against the past trend of massive public gatherings at funerals of terrorists organised in their native villages, which made them a potential ground for radicalisation and recruitment of local terrorists.
"We may find a middle ground and allow relatives claiming Basavaraju's body to attend the funeral to be conducted by police at a secure location, away from the public eye. This would avoid a 'law and order' situation, and ensure the funeral is not mischievously converted into 'hero's farewell'," said a government functionary.
A police officer said while the bodies of over a dozen of the 27 Maoists killed in the Narayanpur operation have been handed over to their kin in Chhattisgarh, doing the same for a leader of Basavaraju's stature is not seen as advisable. "Basavaraju possibly had no contact with his family in Andhra Pradesh for over four decades, given his reclusive nature and Ninja-type movements. Interestingly, none of the relatives claiming his body have issued a public appeal or spoken to the media in the past, condemning his association with the CPI (Maoist). Even when confronted by police, they had disowned Basavaraju and distanced themselves from his violent ways," the officer said.
Another officer told TOI there is suspicion that Basavaraju's relatives may have been secretly egged on by Maoists to claim his body, with the devious motive of using his public funeral to immortalise him as a "Maoist hero" and ignite support and sympathy among the public for Left-wing extremists.
Sources in Chhattisgarh Police said Basavaraju is survived by his stepmother and brothers in his native place in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district. His brother and few cousins have approached Chhattisgarh Police over the last few days to claim his body for performing last rites in Andhra Pradesh. Chhattisgarh Police is verifying the claims and will consider all aspects before taking a final call, TOI has learned.
Senior officials hinted that Chhattisgarh Police may take a cue from Jammu and Kashmir, where, as per standard practice since 2019, bodies of terrorists killed in encounters with security forces are not handed over to their kin but laid to rest by police, unmarked, at designated burial grounds in the presence of only a few immediate family members. This is to guard against the past trend of massive public gatherings at funerals of terrorists organised in their native villages, which made them a potential ground for radicalisation and recruitment of local terrorists.
"We may find a middle ground and allow relatives claiming Basavaraju's body to attend the funeral to be conducted by police at a secure location, away from the public eye. This would avoid a 'law and order' situation, and ensure the funeral is not mischievously converted into 'hero's farewell'," said a government functionary.
A police officer said while the bodies of over a dozen of the 27 Maoists killed in the Narayanpur operation have been handed over to their kin in Chhattisgarh, doing the same for a leader of Basavaraju's stature is not seen as advisable. "Basavaraju possibly had no contact with his family in Andhra Pradesh for over four decades, given his reclusive nature and Ninja-type movements. Interestingly, none of the relatives claiming his body have issued a public appeal or spoken to the media in the past, condemning his association with the CPI (Maoist). Even when confronted by police, they had disowned Basavaraju and distanced themselves from his violent ways," the officer said.
Another officer told TOI there is suspicion that Basavaraju's relatives may have been secretly egged on by Maoists to claim his body, with the devious motive of using his public funeral to immortalise him as a "Maoist hero" and ignite support and sympathy among the public for Left-wing extremists.
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