Lalgarh: Social activist Swami Agnivesh today
demanded a judicial inquiry into the death of Maoist leader
Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, who was killed by Andhra
Pradesh police in an encounter.
Questioning the circumstances under which Azad was killed
in a police encounter, Agnivesh, an interlocutor between the
Centre and the Maoists, said, "There should be a judicial
inquiry into the killing."
"My demand for a probe into Azad's killing was rejected
by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram...Subsequently, I spoke
to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who assured me that a probe
will be held. But there has been no order for an inquiry till
today," he said at the 'Santras Birodhi Mancha' (anti-terror
platform) rally organised by the Trinamool Congress.
Azad was gunned down by Andhra Pradesh police on July 2
in Vankhidi forest area at Jogapur in Adilabad.
Agnivesh, also demanded a probe into the killings of
People's Committee Against Police Atrocities leaders Lalmohan
Tudu and Sidhu Soren in West Bengal.
The social activist said he was against violence by the
Maoists and "if they (the Naxals) have killed people claiming
they were police informers, it should also be probed".
"Santras Birodhi Manchas would be formed countrywide and
a round table organised to deliberate on the root causes of
the Maoist problem," he said lauding TC chief Mamata Banerjee
for organising the rally.
PTI
First Published: Monday, August 09, 2010, 18:28