Hyderabad, October 22: More than two years after the Naxals executed the most sensational ambush at Balimela on the Andhra-Orissa border killing 36 Greyhounds commandos, the retired judge of AP High Court, P Ramakrishnam Raju, who is heading the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Balimela ambush, is likely to submit his report to the state government soon.
After combing the forests in AOB for Naxals, the 36 Greyhounds commandos were returning to the state in a boat when the rebels, positioned at vantage points, ambushed them leading to 36 deaths.
Though the government had initially appointed justice A Lakshmana Rao, former chief justice of Allahabad High Court as the CoI, he expressed his inability to conduct the probe which led the government to appoint Raju as the CoI.
Top sources disclosed to Express that Ramakrishnam Raju has recorded the statements of then IG Greyhounds, Rajiv Trivedi, DIG, SIB B Shivdhar Reddy, then DIG Greyhounds Govind Singh, Visakha range DIG Sandeep Shandilya, Visakhapatnam SP Akun Sabharwal and Greyhounds group commander Vineet Brijlal.
The CoI also recorded the statements of the Greyhounds personnel who survived the ambush besides other lower rung officials. The statement of then Malkangiri (Orissa) SP SK Gajbhaye was also recorded.
Sources said that Raju also visited the ambush site.
The government wanted the CoI, appointed in August 2009, to submit its report within six months but it is learnt that the CoI sought some more time to complete the probe.
Though the powers-that-be within the police department used all their contacts to see to it that the Balimela CoI was given a silent burial as they feared that it will end up in a slanging match between the various police units, the CoI is all set to submit its report.
–Agencies