NEW DELHI: Home minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday defended the CRPF over the June 27 encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh but said he was deeply sorry for the loss of innocent lives in the shootout.
Talking to reporters, Chidambaram said CRPF's role in the encounter was "transparent" and "upfront", while saying that he was deeply sorry if innocent persons got killed in the gun battle with Maoists.
The support for paramilitary personnel came a day after Union minister for tribal affairs V Kishore Chandra Deo termed reports of deaths of civilians in the encounter as "unacceptable", and amid demands by Congressmen in Chhattisgarh for a probe into the violence. Deo met party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday and discussed the issue of tribals including the encounter. He later stood by his stand against the killing of innocent young tribal boys and girls and said one had to also look into the reasons why tribals were joining the Naxals.
Chidambaram said it was up to the state government to take a call on whether or not it needed to initiate any inquiry into the June 27 operation "conducted under state police" direction.
"The CRPF DG has said he has nothing to hide, nothing to fear. I do not think any central force has been so transparent. I am not going into the political controversies. I am the home minister and the CRPF is under me. We have been absolutely candid, frank and upfront. The encounter for some reason is being called a fake encounter. Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh spoke to me. As far as any enquiry is concerned, it's a call he has to take," Chidambaram said.
On June 27, the CRPF had killed 20 alleged Maoists in an encounter in the forests of Silger in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh. The incident has triggered allegations that those killed included innocent villagers.
Speaking of the innocent victims, Chidambaram said, "If any girl, or boy or man or woman not involved with the Maoists at all has been killed, I can only be deeply sorry. I share (tribal affairs minister) Deo's sense of sadness and anguish at the loss of lives."
He also quoted the CRPF DG as saying that if in the dark in the jungle, if the forces are facing casualty, the standard operating procedure requires them to open fire.
Chidambaram said most of those killed in the encounter were adults with the youngest being 15 years old and "at least three of them have been identified as having a criminal record". He pointed out that six jawans were injured in the firing.
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