Strict action will be taken against those responsible: CM Bhupesh Baghel on Sarkeguda encounter

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has promised strict action against personnel responsible for the alleged 2012 Sarkeguda encounter.

"Strict action will be taken against whoever is responsible for this. The procedure is to table it (judicial commission report) before the assembly and then it is examined by the law department," he said while speaking to reporters on Monday.

The Chief Minister said that there is no question of sparing anyone in the case.

"After that a committee is constituted and which will decide what actions should be taken against whom. There is no question of sparing anyone in this case," said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister's comments come after a one-member judicial commission indicted security forces for killing 17 people, including seven minors, in Sarkeguda village in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district in June 2012.

The commission stated that there was no firing by the villagers and no evidence to prove that they were Naxalites.

On the intervening night of June 28 and 29, 2012, 17 villagers, including 7 minors, from Sarkeguda, Kottaguda and Rajpenta were fired upon and killed by a combined team of CRPF and police personnel and 10 others were injured. Six security personnel also sustained injuries in the incident.

The commission chaired by Justice VK Agarwal, a retired Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court submitted its report to the state government earlier this month.

"The report concludes that the security forces opened fire unilaterally on the members of the meeting, killing and injuring many of them. There was no firing by the members of the meeting," the Commission stated.