Burkapal<\/a> attack or the Sukma attack was the second deadliest in the Bastar region after the killing of 76 personnel in 2010 and the personnel attacked were guarding the Dornapal-Jagargonda road construction work.<\/p>\nOn the evening of April 24, 2017, the 74th battalion of the Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF) came under heavy firing from Maoists, 100 meters from Burkapal village, killing 25 personnel including an inspector-rank officer.<\/p>\n
Studying the police investigation, the court said the prosecution failed to prove that arms and ammunition were recovered from the accused during the time of arrest and that they were present at the spot of the ambush.<\/p>\n
In the next few days after the attack, the Chhattisgarh police registered a case in Chintagufa police station and booked a total of 120 tribals of six villages \u2013Burkapal, Gondapalli, Chintagufa, Talmetla, Koraigundum and Tonguda. A woman was added as an accused later taking the total number of arrested to 121.<\/p>\n
The first information report (FIR) mentions Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 147, 148, 149, 120(B), 307, 302, 396, 397; Sections 25, 27 of Arms Act and Sections 3 and 5 of Explosive Substances Act. In the charge-sheet Chhattisgarh, Vishesh Jan Surakhsha Adhinayam (CVJSA), and UAPA were also added.<\/p>\n
Delay in Case, Wasted Their Lives<\/h3>\n
After a delay of four years, the trial finally began in the NIA court at Dantewada in August 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cA total of 25 prosecution witnesses were examined and the judgment was delivered on 15 July 2022 acquitting all the accused,\u201d said Bichem Pondi, a lawyer for the accused.<\/p>\n
Special Judge for National Investigation Agency cases Deepak Kumar Deshlhre acquitted the accused on Friday, observing that the prosecution failed to prove their involvement in the offense and links with Naxals, said advocate Bela Bhatia, a defense lawyer. The order, which became available on Saturday, also said that the prosecution failed to prove that any arms and ammunition were recovered from the accused\u2019s possession.<\/p>\n
After the acquittal, activists said the Burkapal case will be remembered as one of the injustices done to Bastar tribals in the name of anti-Maoist operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive years of their lives were wasted behind bars and they were brought to court hearings only twice during the trial when it is mandatory to produce the accused in person in every hearing. Bail was denied in the designated NIA court at the district level as well as the high court,\u201d said Bela Bhatia, a human rights activist and one of the defense lawyers in the case.<\/p>\n
It is unfortunate that the courts disregard the lives of citizens and carry cases to drag on for years, and in some cases, innocent people falsely accused lose everything.\u00a0 There should be a new system pushing for faster-working courts and politicians should make it happen<\/p>\n
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