New Delhi: An preliminary report from the Chhattisgarh Congress claims that at least five minors were killed in the anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh last week.
The 13-member committee, headed by Kawashi Lakma, reports that it is still not clear who started the gunbattle that killed 17 villagers on June 29 in Bijapur village in Chhattisgarh.
The report also says that innocent lives were lost when the tribals were caught in the crossfire between the Maoists and the security forces.
The report claims all the minors killed in the encounter were aged between 12 and 16 years.
The report is in stark contrast to what Home Minister P Chidambaram said today. Defending the firefight, the Home Minister said a CRPF party was fired upon in the jungle at 11.30 pm and had to return fire as a Standard Operating Procedure. He said the security forces had been able to identify at least three-four of those killed as having previous criminal record.
However, the Home Minister said he was "deeply sorry" if any innocent person was killed in the encounter. He said this could be established only after an official probe in the incident was over.
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