Friendly fire killed anti-Naxal cop: DGP Shankar Bidari

Chitradurga, December 6: Karnataka's top cop on Monday admitted that Mahadev S Mane, a police constable attached to the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), was killed “accidentally” during a combing operation at a Naxal-infested village in Dakshina Kannada district on October 9.

The police had earlier claimed that Mane was killed by Naxals during the encounter at Naravi in Belthangady taluk.

But, doubts had been raised about the claim as Mane had sustained bullet injuries in his back.

Sources in the department had said Mane was killed by one of his companions accidentally, during an exchange of fire with a group of 10 suspected Naxals.

Speaking with mediapersons here on Monday, IG&DGP Shankar Bidari put en end to the speculation, stating that an internal inquiry report had confirmed that Mane was killed due to negligence and confusion among the ANF team which was scouring the area for Naxals.

Mane met his death during an alleged encounter between the ANF policemen and Naxals at Manjilakadu near Naravi, an area reportedly the focus of Naxal activity in Dakshina Kannada district.

Though it was initially believed that Mane was killed by the naxalites who were visiting the village, the circumstances of the death and conflicting versions of the incident fuelled doubts over the veracity of the police claims that Mane was a victim of firing by Naxals.

Reports that Mane was gunned down by his own colleagues due to the negligent, haphazard and unplanned combing technique of the ANF had begun gaining currency. Though credible sources in the police department had said that Mane's death was evidently due to wrong combat tactics, the police top brass remained tight-lipped throughout, and continued to point the finger at naxals.

According to the sources in the police, three persons — Surappa, Mohana and Harisha, all residents of Manjetti village of Belthangady taluk — had ventured into the forest for hunting. The locals mistook them for naxalites and called in the ANF. The ANF constables fired wildly in the forest during their search for alleged naxalites, resulting in Mane's death. The police department has not only remained silent so far, but has also failed to follow up its inquiry into the incident.

Mane is not the first victim of ANF friendly fire. In July 2007, Venkatesh, an assistant sub-inspector, had been killed in a similar incident. Mystery shrouds the incident till this day.