RAIPUR, MAY 10: A day after foul play was confirmed by the preliminary autopsy report of four of the seven villagers killed in a fake encounter near Santoshpur village on March 31, the Chhattisgarh Police finally lodged an FIR in the case.

But clearly attempting to shield securitymen, the FIR states that the crime was committed by “agyaat vardidhari log” (unidentified men in uniform). It does not specify if these uniformed men were policemen or Naxalites.

The FIR, registered at the Bijapur police station, states that the killing of tribals from Ponjer and other villages was carried out by 25-30 people who were in uniform. The report states that no one has been able to identify the culprits. Nor is any motive for the killing mentioned.

The autopsy, which was carried out after The Indian Express first reported the “encounter” that had been kept under wraps, revealed gunshot wounds and deep gashes caused by sharp-edged objects like axes or machetes. Villagers said that seven innocent persons were picked up by the police and Salwa Judum — an armed anti-Naxalite force comprising villagers — and killed in cold blood as “Naxalite sympathisers”. One of the three doctors who carried out the post-mortem confirmed that at least two bodies had clear gunshot wounds.

“Kodiam Bujja of Santoshpur village and Madiyam Lakhma of Ponjer, whose bodies have also been exhumed, clearly show that they have been shot at from a point blank range,” the doctor stated.