Opposition seeks judicial probe into 'fake' Jharkhand encounter Ranchi, June 16 (IANS): The opposition parties have termed the encounter between police and Maoist guerrillas in Giridih earlier this month in which one person was killed as "fake" and demanded a judicial probe. Lal Baske, a villager, was killed in a gun battle with the security forces in Pirtand jungle of Giridih district on June 9. Former Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Executive President Hemant Soren, who met Baske's family members, said the "encounter was fake". "Jharkhand government is getting innocent tribals living in jungles killed in the name of Maoists. We demand a judicial probe or CBI inquiry into the encounter. The family members should be given Rs 25 lakh as compensation," he told reporters. Police described the killed villager as a hardcore Maoist guerrilla. After Baske's death, his family members and villagers raised the issue of fake encounter. Even banned Maoist group, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), has in a statement denied that Baske was a member of the group as termed by police. He was running a tea shop on Parasnath hill. According to family members, Baske had on the day of the shootout gone to the jungle to collect wood. The Congress party has termed the "innocent" villager's killing as unfortunate. "Jharkhand was created for the welfare of people living in this region, particularly the tribal people. Now, innocent tribal people are being killed in the name of anti-Maoist operation. We demand a judicial probe into the encounter by a sitting judge of the High Court," Jharkhand Congress General Secretary Alok Dubey told IANS. In last 7 years, 2 civilians died a week in police firing Devanik Saha IANS Two civilians died every week, on average, in police firing in India, according to national crime data for the years 2009 to 2015. The data provide perspective to the death of six farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district on June 6, when police fired on protesting farmers demanding better prices. As many as 796 civilians died due to police firing between 2009 and 2015, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). As many as 4,747 incidents of police firing were reported between 2009 and 2015. Over the years, firing incidents have decreased, mostly due to a decline in incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, which witnessed severe unrest between 2008 and 2010. For instance, in 2010, 662 incidents of police firing were reported in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 91 civilians and 17 police personnel died, and 494 civilians and 2,952 police personnel were injured. Of the 156 incidents of police firing in 2015, 86 were classified as "on other occasion", 30 to effect arrest and 21 in riots. These incidents killed 16, five and 11 civilians, respectively. In the same year, 19 incidents of police firing in self defence led to 10 civilian deaths. Among the states, Rajasthan reported the maximum occasions (35) where police resorted to firing in 2015, followed by Maharashtra (33) and Uttar Pradesh (29). Before 2014, the incidents of firing were categorised as: Riots, anti-dacoity operations, against terrorists and extremists, and others. Between 2009 and 2013, these categories saw 1,371, 174, 815 and 775 incidents of police firing, respectively. Between 2009 and 2015, as many as 471 police personnel died during police firing, the NCRB data reveal.
