Maoist encounter: Autopsy of Kuppu Devaraj shows multiple injuries on chest, abdomen

Kozhikode: The report of the post-mortem conducted on the body of Kuppu Devaraj (Kuppu Swami), 62, the central committee member of Communist Party of India (Maoist), has revealed that he was not shot at point blank range but was killed due to multiple gunshot injuries caused to the chest and abdomen from a distance. The report submitted to the sessions court at Manjery, Malappuram, said the physical evidence of a close-range shooting was missing on the body as all the entry wounds were devoid of burning, blackening and tattooing.

The report was prepared by junior resident medical officer Dr Nisha Nandakumar, department of forensic medicine, Medical College Hospital here. The report was on Thursday handed over to the human rights activists, who had approached the court demanding preservation of the two bodies of the killed Maoists Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha at the mortuary till the submission of the report. There were 27 injuries on his body of which 24 resulted from firearms.

“There were nine entry wounds of bullets, all caused by firing from a distance of which four were on the front of the body and five on the back,” the report said. Two bullets pierced through the body while four were recovered and three remained within. All bullets appeared to be similar. Bullets were hit at the left half of the front portion of the body and right half of the back side. Fatal injuries involved perforation of heart, lungs, liver and diaphragm. There were injuries on genital organs, left kidney and pelvic bones. The injured stomach has rice and curry indicative of taking food just before the firing.

Sedition charge likely on fake picture circulation

The Crime Branch has registered a case in connection with the circulation of a picture pertaining to the recent killing of two Maoists in Nilambur forests. A picture of some police officials watching the body of a woman was circulated on the social media with a misleading caption saying that Kerala police personnel were standing near the body of Ajeetha, the Maoist who was killed in the Nilambur encounter.

A preliminary probe revealed that it was a picture downloaded from an Odisha news portal and was related to an encounter in Odisha in October 2015 in which one woman was killed. DGP Rajesh Dewan, who is holding charge of the Crime Branch, ordered registration of the case with sedition charges under the Indian Penal Code and a probe was on to trace the accused. “The picture with a fake caption was being circulated to trigger extremism and public sentiments against the police and the government,” said a police statement.