NAGPUR: A 40-member fact-finding committee has alleged that security forces pocketed a substantial amount of cash running into a few crores after the April 22-23
Gadchiroli encounters, which claimed the lives of 40
Maoists. Sources said the money belonged to the Aheri operational command and amounted to at least Rs 6 crore.
The committee said the
C-60 commandos forced Moaists' divisional committee member Vasudev Atram alias Nandu, Perimili Dalam member Kartick Uikey and their aides to accompany them from
Boriya-Kasnasur forest and point out the money 'dumps'.
"We had dug out the empty containers after the place was shown to us by Nainer villagers. Nandu and others are likely to have shown more such 'dumps' before they reached this spot. In all probability, they were killed after the last 'dump'. Villagers told us that the commandos had emptied the containers and buried them back," said V Raghunath, a Hyderabad HC lawyer, who was part of the committee.
The empty containers were brought to Gadchiroli SP Abhinav Deshmukh's notice by the committee. "Deshmukh has assured us that it would be investigated but we have our doubts," Raghunath said. Deshmukh denied that the committee had mentioned the missing cash to him. "We got about 35 detonators and other materials from the encounter site," he said.
File photo for representation