Bhopal, Mar 18 (PTI) Opposition Congress on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Madhya Pradesh assembly demanding Rs 1 crore financial assistance and a government job for a family member of a tribal man killed during an encounter with Naxalites.

Raising the issue through a calling attention motion, Congress MLA Vikrant Bhuria said fake encounters were carried out in the name of wiping Naxalism and innocent tribal people are getting killed.

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The deceased person, identified as Hiran Parte, was a Baiga tribal. The encounter with Naxals took place on March 9 in the Kanha National Park (KNP) and Tiger Reserve.

Bhuria said that police initially described Parte as a Naxalite and later called him a Naxal sympathiser.

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He said the flip-flop casts doubt on the genuineness of the encounter and demanded a judicial probe.

Minister of State for Public Health and Medical Education Narendra Shivaji Patel said the initial probe shows that a Hawk Force team had got information that two tribal men (forest watchers) were supposed to deliver ration at a designated place on a hillock to Maoists near a forest camp in the KNP.

"After reaching the spot, the Hawk Force team brought the two watchers down and questioned them. They revealed that three members of a Naxalite squad, including three armed women and a man, gave them a piece of paper for supplying ration and they were using code signals like clapping and hitting a stone with an axe to generate a particular sound," the minister said.

Later, the Hawk Force team hid in the forest area along with the two tribal men and as soon as Naxalites arrived at the spot, they challenged ultras to surrender, but they opened fire, which was retaliated, he said.

"The firing lasted for nearly two hours and stopped in the evening when cops noticed that a body was lying on the ground," the minister said.

The Hawk force searched the area the next morning and found an unidentified body, which was later identified by Hiran Parte's wife.

Amid uproar from Opposition benches, the minister said Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had directed a Rs 10 lakh payout from his discretionary fund. A magisterial inquiry on 11 points, including those raised by the opposition members, is also underway.

Opposition MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, Narayan Patta, and Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat objected to the government describing the deceased as a Naxalite and demanded Rs 1 crore assistance and a government job for his family member.

Intervening in the discussion, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kailash Vijaywargiya cited Minister Patel's statement.

He said Patel had already said that if the probe found that the deceased tribal had no Naxal connection, a member of his family would be given a government job and Rs 1 crore assistance.

However, the opposition members insisted that the financial aid be announced immediately and rushed to the well of the House raising slogans against the government before staging a walkout.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)