Cuttack: Bauribandhu Shetty (44), who was among the 16 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district during a joint operation by security forces of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and CRPF, left home at Kulashree under Niali police limits in Cuttack district 20 years ago.
But what led to the sudden disappearance of a bright student like him?
According to his elder brother Bijayram, a Jana Garjan Samabesh was held in the high school at Kulashree in 2005. “People from 13 districts had come for the meeting. Around 70 youths had also collected rice from villages, following which they enacted a play, depicting atrocities against the poor. Bauri did not return home after attended the programme,” he told the media.
Bauribandhu was then a Plus III student of SVM college in Jagatsinghpur.
He also mentioned about police raid at their house about five years back. “It was then that we got to know that he had joined the outlawed outfit. Following which, we performed his last rites,” said the brother with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Bijayram did not know how to react when news about Bauribandhu having been gunned down in an encounter with security forces during an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh came on Thursday night. “He studied in Dadhi Baman Jew Bidyapitha, Kulashree, and had won scholarship after securing position among top 10 in Class X. We had sold our land to help him pursue high studies,” he said.
The family, however, refused to accept his body.
“We informed Bauribandhu’s family after the identification of his body. Though they identified him, they refused to claim his body for the last rites. After taking a written undertaking from them, we will perform Bauribandhu’s cremation,” a senior police officer told TOI.
Bauribandhu was a close associate of central committee member Chalapati, who was also killed in the encounter. “We knew about his involvement in Maoist activities. He mostly operated in Chhattisgarh. His possible involvement in anti-govt operations in Odisha cannot be ruled out. He was carrying a Rs 18 lakh bounty on his head,” the officer added.
The Chhattisgarh government had announced Rs 8 lakh on his head while Odisha and Andhra Pradesh both had set bounties of Rs 5 lakh each.
