Kolkata:
Three days after the death of Maoist leader Kishenji, who was shot dead by security forces, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee broke her silence and defended the police encounter.
Ms Banerjee said that the police waited for three days for Kishenji to surrender. She claimed police announced on loudspeakers and offered a safe passage to Kishenji but the Maoists instead opened fire, forcing the police to retaliate.
There has been no reports uptill now of the police offering a safe passage to Kishenji if he surrendered.
The Chief Minister also indirectly dismissed claims by Kishenji's relatives and other activists that the Maoist leader was killed in a fake encounter.
"I asked them what happened and how it happened. Didn't you give a chance to him to surrender? They (security officials) said we gave them three days. We kept telling them on a loudspeaker that we will give safe passage and to maintain peace. They ignored it and started firing. 1000 round bullets were fired. If they didn't take action, 500 villagers would have been killed," said Ms Banerjee.