The CBI Friday told the Supreme Court that the 2010 gun battle in which Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and freelance journalist H.C. Pandey were killed was genuine.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said this in its final report submitted to the court on its investigation into the killing of Azad and Pandey.
Perusing through the report, the apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R.P. Desai expressed satisfaction and described it as a painstaking and thorough work.
The court told petitioners social activist Swami Agnivesh and Hemchandra Pandey’s wife Bineeta Pandey that their allegation on the shootout being a staged one was not supported by the investigation.
The court allowed counsel Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for petitioners, to inspect the report but declined to give him its copy.
The court asked him not to reveal the names of the officials mentioned in the report for security reasons. The court observed that counsel would uphold the confidentiality of the information in the report.
The matter would next be heard April 13.
Azad was killed at close range with a handgun July 1, 2010 at Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh.
