India, May 22 -- A team of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) visited the Pedia village in Chhattisgrah's Bijapur district, where 12 alleged Maoists were killed on May 10 and claimed in its report that the villagers "clearly stated that it was by no means an encounter" as claimed by the police but a clear case of extra-judicial killings by the security forces.

On May 12, two days after 12 Maoists were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, villagers and activists alleged that it was a "fake encounter and those killed were civilians who were later branded by police as insurgents".

However, police refuted the claims and said that all killed in the encounter were Maoists.

Deputy inspecto...