A one-member probe has raised critical questions on the role of a senior and now suspended Chhattisgarh Police officer for a 2009 massacre by Naxalites of 29 policemen in Rajnandgaon district.
The Madanwada Special Inquiry Commission has found fault with Mukesh Gupta, the then Commander-in-Chief of anti-Naxalite operations and the Inspector General of Police in Durg.
It said the situation would have been different if Gupta had acted intelligently based on the ground situation.
Gupta failed in providing tactical leadership and such a situation could have been avoided, said the judicial panel report citing witnesses.
The report was tabled by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday along with the Action Taken Report during the ongoing Budget session of the Assembly.
It said that Gupta sent Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police V K Choubey to fight the Naxalites while safely sitting in a bulletproof vehicle just one kilometre from the Manpur police station under which the area fell.
The report said that on June 26, 2009, Gupta had, without providing any basic amenities (shelter, water and toilet) for police personnel, opened the Madanwada police camp when Choubey was the Superintendent of Police of the district.
On July 12, 2009, police personnel who had gone to attend the nature’s call were attacked by Naxalites, leading to the deaths of Arvind Sharma and Premsingh Paswan. Some others were injured.
Choubey had gone to pick up the bodies of the personnel.
When he returned, even after knowing about the presence of Naxalites in the area, Gupta told Choubey to go and assist police personnel who went on motorcycles in search of the Naxalites.
The Naxalites then killed the 29 security personnel, including Choubey, in an ambush.
The report said that Maoists prepared a video, later sent to police, showing them celebrating after the killings.
The Madanwada inquiry was set up in 2018. The report was submitted in February 2022.
At present, Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Gupta (IPS-1998) is in suspension since February 2019 after several cases were registered against him and other police officers on many charges including phone tapping.