The Kerala Police issued a clarification after the forensic report, on the killing of Maoist leader C P Jaleel during an “encounter” at Lakidi in Wayanad district of Kerala in 2019, revealed that no shot was found to have fired from the gun that was sent for examination.
The forensic report also said that there were no particles or remains of gunpowder on Jaleel's right hand either.
“Examination result on the empty cartridges collected from the scene of crime shows that at least two of the empty cartridges were not fired from any of the firearms forwarded for examination,” police said in a statement. They claim that one or more Maoists managed to escape and thier guns will have to be examined to conclusively prove that the two empty shells were fired from it.
The police also point out that while no gun-shot residue was found on the hands, metal lead was detected from Jaleel's left hand which indicates his handling/use of weapon.
Allegations that Jaleel was killed in a fake encounter had surfaced soon after the killings by the police's elite wing, the Thunderbolt.
Jaleel's borther C P Rasheed and human rights activists had charged the police of staging a fake encounter.
They claimed that there are enough circumstantial evidence to show the Kerala Thunderbolt had deliberately killed Jaleel after detaining him.
Rasheed charged that though the police could have fired below the waist, the killer shots were deliberately fired.
A magisterial enquiry was conducted and the results were largely the same as the police version.
Activists had claimed that the probe by state government was not enough and demanded a judicial enquiry.
