'Ma Had Been Waiting for Him': Kin of 8 Slain Maoists Allege 'Illegal' Cremation

The police told the kin that due to decomposition & risk of infection, eight bodies of slain Maoists were cremated.

Families of slain Maoists have been seeking justice after not receiving the bodies of their kin for last rites.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

On 21 May, the Abujhmad area in Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh witnessed a major clash between security forces and Maoists. As many as 27 alleged members of the banned CPI (Maoist), including General Secretary Nambala Keshava Rao aka Basavaraju, were killed in the anti-Maoist operation.

But even as the move was lauded by the national political leadership as a win against Left Wing Extremism (LWE), reports of human rights violations have been flying too.

A new controversy has now arisen after the encounter — about the non-return of the bodies to the families.

While the police claim to have handed over 19 bodies to their families, the remaining eight were cremated in the absence of families and without their permission, causing deep anger and grief among the relatives.

Basavaraju's Brother: 'Never Got to See Him'

The issue escalated after Basavaraju's body was not handed over to his family and instead cremated without their consent. “Mother waited 50 years for her son, my brother. Now he is dead and she didn’t even get to see him for the last time,” Nambala Ram Prasad Rao, Basavaraju's brother, told the Quint.

Basavaraju's brother Nambala Ram Prasad Rao.

(Raunak Shivhare/The Quint)

Rao reached Jagdalpur by road on 22 May to collect his brother's body after getting the news of his killing through the media.

But he never got to see his brother's remains. He claims that threats from the district police in Srikakulam disallowing him to bring the body back forced him to return to his ancestral home and take the matter to the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

In the court, both the government of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, represented by their respective Advocate Generals, argued that AP High Court does not hold any jurisdiction, further adding they fear there could be law and order situation if the bodies are handed over. 

Nevertheless, upon the court's order, it was procedurally submitted by the Chhattisgarh government that once the post mortem is completed, the bodies will be returned to the family. Based on this assurance, the AP High Court dismissed the case. But despite the court's interventions, families of Basavaraju and others faced a hostile situation on ground, they claimed.

Basavaraju's brother Rao has accused the police and administration of ignoring the AP High Court’s 24 May orders asking Chhattisgarh police to return the the slain Naxal's body to his family after the autopsy.

“We brought the court order stating that after post mortem, the bodies would be handed over and showed it to the police. But the bodies were not handed over."

Nambala Ram Prasad Rao

Apart from Basavaraju, the families of four other slain Maoists were also running from pillar to post in Narayanpur to get their relatives’ bodies.

Apart from Basavaraju, the families of four other killed Maoists were also running from pillar to post in Narayanpur to get their relatives’ bodies.

(Raunak Shivhare/The Quint)

After five days of stressful wait, the police told them the bodies were decomposing—and there was a risk in taking them from the hospital to the village. They cited risk of disease, and suggested that the cremations be done at Narayanpur headquarters. But the families refused permission. 

“We will not leave the place without our brother Basavaraju's body—no matter how long it takes," Rao had declared at the police station.

Two days after the High Court hearing, on 26 May, the bodies of eight Maoists, including Basavaraju, Vivek (from Telangana), Bhumi (from Andhra Pradesh, and five others, were cremated.

Families Held Inside, Bodies Cremated Outside

On the day of the cremation, family members of the cremated Maoists alleged, they were held inside the Narayanpur police station from 11 am to about 5 pm. By the time they were allowed to leave the police station, the bodies had been already been cremated.

The lawyer representing Rao, C Chandrashekhar, said,

“Perhaps fearing that the court would force them to hand over the bodies, the police set the bodies on fire. This a mockery of justice, making the matter worse for the Chhattisgarh government and police.”

Before leaving for Andhra Pradesh, Rao said, “What police did today is very insulting. But I trust the judiciary will deliver justice to the families". Families of other slain Naxals also lodged their grief and protest against the police, who they claim "disrespected their right" to carry out the last rites of their relatives.

“We only wanted to take our brother’s ashes,” slain Maoist Bhumi’s brother Raju from Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh told The Quint.

He alleged that he came with an ambulance to take his sister’s body but could not establish any contact with the police for three days. He accused the police of not communicating details about Bhumi's cremation with him or others in the family, leading to "severe mental stress" and unnecessary wandering.

Raju further added that his family does not plan to let the matter go.

“We will seek help from the judiciary against this injustice. It is a violation of law and human rights to not hand over the bodies to their families after death."

Raju

Family members of slain Maoist Vivek aka Rakesh from Telangana's Hanamkonda have also been waiting outside the Narayanpur district hospital’s mortuary since 23 May. His father, a truck driver by profession, said he had not seen his son since 2016.

Vivek had gone for post-graduation studies—never to be heard of again untill the family heard about his death through media on 22 May. “We haven’t seen my son since 2016, now we don’t even have his body," Vivek’s father, Bura Babu, told The Quint.

When asked if the family agreed to the cremation in Narayanpur, the relative said, “What can we say now? What can we say?” The family alleged they have been running between the hospital and police station for four days but have not yet received, or even seen, the body.

“We have been coming to take the body for five days, but police keep sending us around. Where is the justice?”

Bura Babu

Kanaka Sunderrao, father of Naveen alias Madhu, senior cadre killed in the encounter, who hailed from Prakasham district of Andhra Pradesh

(Raunak Shivhare/The Quint)

'Kept in the Dark, Pressured'

Bastar IG Sundarraj P issued a press release stating that "out of the 27 Maoists killed in the encounter at Kudamel Kalhaja Jatlur Botera forest, 19 bodies were handed over to families after verification. Relatives of Maoist cadre Kosi Hungi reached on 26 May to collect the body".

The statement further noted that "due to decomposition and risk of infection, it was requested to cremate the bodies at Narayanpur headquarters. There was no clear legal claim for the bodies of CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Basavaraju and others, hence the cremation of all eight Maoists was carried out legally under the Executive Magistrate’s orders".

However, families The Quint spoke with said they came with written documents and High Court orders but were still not handed the bodies.

Human rights activist Bela Bhatia, who was present in Narayanpur with the families of the deceased Maoists, confirmed that eight Maoists’ last rites had been performed.

“Basavaraju and four other Naxalites were cremated in the absence of their families."

Bela Bhatia

Human rights activist and social worker Bela Bhatia with families of slain Maoists.

(Raunak Shivhare/The Quint)

The activist did not have information about the whereabouts of the other three families also making similar allegations. But she added that the police pressured families to allow the cremations and kept them in the dark for three days without giving any information about the bodies.

Activists as well as the families stated that the action by police violates Article 21 (Right to Life and Dignity) of the Indian Constitution and Supreme Court guidelines, which include the right to a respectful funeral.

(Raunak Shivhare is an independent journalist from Dantewada in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.)