A one-man probe panel appointed to inquire into last week's massacre by Naxals in Chhattisgarh has begun its investigation even as a massive manhunt has been launched to nab those behind the deadly ambush that killed 76 security personnel.
Former BSF chief E N Rammohan has started collecting relevant information like the command structure, hierarchy and the decision concerning the operation, quality of training imparted to the CRPF men who were attacked by Naxalites on April six and whether they followed the Standard Operating Procedures, sources said.
"The inquiry committee has a very tight deadline. It will submit its report on April 24," a source said.
A survey of site of the attack showed that two LMGs were used by the Naxals -- who were mainly from 'company 3' and 'company 8' of the Maoists Central Committee and led by Hidma and Papa Rao, sources said.
The LMGs might have been stolen from police forces in Andhra Pradesh or Orissa, they said.
Rammohan visited the CRPF headquarters in Delhi and met the force's Director General Vikram Srivastava yesterday.
He is believed to have sought the call detail records of the mobile telephones used by the deceased and injured personnel of CRPF during the encounter on April six.
During his visit to Tarmetla in Dantewada district and state headquarters Raipur, Rammohan will interact with CRPF officials, local police and civil officials and injured jawans.
Rammohan will also gather evidence from family members and others, who had spoken to some of the CRPF men during the ambush, which could throw light on the actual events, after his return from Chhattisgarh, sources said.
In his report, which will be submitted to the Home Ministry, Rammohan will suggest measures to mitigate lapses, if any, so that such incidents do not occur in the future, sources said.
A massive manhunt has been launched to nab the red rebels, including their leaders, involved in the gruesome killing for which three names -- Papa Rao, Ramana and Hidma -- have emerged as prime suspects.
Born in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district, 50-year-old Rao, a general secretary of Maoists' Jagarbandhu area committee, is known to be the right hand man of Ramana, the special general secretary of Dandakarnya region.
Dandakaranya is the forest tract in the country's central-southern region covering parts of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra where the banned CPI-Maoist virtually run a parallel government envisioning a "liberated" zone.
50-year-old Ramana hails from Warangal area, once the hotbed of Naxalites, and has been active in Dantewada region for long. He is involved in many strikes on security forces.
According to investigations, the sources said name of "Hidma", military advisor to the Jagarbandhu area committee, has also cropped up during investigations into the gory incident. PTI
