Seeking justice, family refuses to cremate alleged Naxal killed two years ago

Badru's family sought justice and in an attempt to get it refused to cremate his body. Instead, the family covered the body with salt, oil and herbs to prevent it from decomposing, wrapped it in white cloth, and placed it in a pit which was then covered with wooden sticks and a polythene shed to protect it from the effects of weather.

Bijapur (Chhattisgarh): A family in the rural outskirts of Bijapur refuses to cremate the body of their son who was killed in an alleged encounter between security forces and the Naxalites in the area in 2020.

On March 19, 2020, Badru was shot dead in an alleged encounter between the security forces and the Naxalites. A resident of the Gampur village on the outskirts of Bijapur, Badru, according to the security forces, was a wanted Naxalite with Rs 2 lakh prize money on him. The security forces claimed the deceased was a member of the medical team of Naxalites as well as an IED expert.

Badru's family, however, has a different story to narrate. One of the family members requesting anonymity said he was witness to the "murder the police mercilessly committed in front of his own eyes". Badru, he claimed, was "randomly shot dead when the two came across the security officials in a forest while they were on a hunt for some Mahua fruits".

"The officials suddenly surrounded Badru, who was clueless about what was happening, and shot him dead, while I rushed home to inform his family about the incident," the kin said. The police, he said, took the body in their custody and returned it "without any explanation or judicial clearing whatsoever".

Following his death, Badru's family sought justice and in an attempt to get it refused to cremate his body. Instead, the family covered the body with salt, oil and herbs to prevent it from decomposing, wrapped it in white cloth, and placed it in a pit which was then covered with wooden sticks and a polythene shed to protect it from the effects of weather. However, the body has turned into a mere skeleton after two years, though his family's agony-driven grit to leave it un-cremated until justice is served remains intact.

Badru's mother Marco Madvi and his wife Podi are sure of his innocence. "The police killed my son unnecessarily by accusing him of being a Naxalite. There has been no judicial enquiry in this matter despite our rigorous efforts. We will not cremate his body until we get justice," the teary-eyed mother said.