Man killed in Chhattisgarh ‘encounter’: Police say he was Maoist, family denies

RAIPUR: JAN. 25 – Hours after a 25-year-old from a tribal community was killed in Chhattisgarh’s Naraynpur in the early hours of Monday, in what police claimed was counter-fire to Maoist cadres’ fire, police identified the deceased, Manu Nureti, as a Maoist, while his family members denied it.

According to Narayanpur police, an unknown person – subsequently identified as Manu Nureti – was found dead in an encounter between Maoists and District Reserve Guard (DRG) at 1.30 am. Police said they recovered weapons and other articles Maoists found on cadres.

“Our DRG teams were fired upon by Maoists 3 km before Bharanda police thana; they returned fire. After that, the body of an unknown Maoist, along with arms and ammunition and an IED, was found from the spot,” DSP Anuj Kumar told the media.

But Renu Nureti, Manu’s brother and who works as a District Reserve Guard, said Manu was not a Maoist cadre. “He had filled out the forms to become a member of Bastar Fighters. We are all Maoist-affected, displaced people. He has been declared a Maoist wrongfully,” Renu Nureti said.

Manbati Nureti, who was to wed Manu, said he had stepped out for a walk after dinner on Sunday and never returned. “He had no wepons, except maybe a catapult that he carried everywhere. At 4 am, we had some neighbours come to our house; they said he had been killed,” Manbati said.

Renu Nureti said the family had to move from Kanker to Narayanpur due to Maoist violence. A certificate declaring Manu Nureti as a “Naxal-affected” person was issued by the village sarpanch in 2016, Renu said.

“I don’t know how the police found weapons with him; we have no weapons at home, and it is impossible my brother would carry one. He wanted to join the police force and fight Maoists,” Renu said.