HC orders Maoists' bodies be preserved if brought to Andhra

The High Court of Judicature in Hyderabad today directed the Andhra Pradesh government to preserve bodies of the Maoists who were killed in an encounter in Malkangiri district if these were brought to the state.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Venkat Narayana passed the order on a petition filed by C Chandrasekhar of Civil Liberties Committee which said the police resorted to "encounter and killed the Maoists".
Andhra Pradesh Advocate General informed the court that the state government was not sure if the exchange of fire had taken place in Andhra territory, and there was no information available till now as to whether the bodies would be brought to Andhra Pradesh at all.

The hearing was adjourned to Wednesday for further consideration after the court said if the bodies were brought to Andhra Pradesh, they should be preserved for the purpose of investigation.
At least 24 Maoists, including their top leaders, were gunned down in a fierce gun-battle with security forces in Odisha's Malkangiri district on the border with Andhra Pradesh early this morning.