A Malappuram Court has rejected the plea seeking a fresh post-mortem of the bodies of two Maoists killed in an alleged encounter in Nilambur. 

The Manjeri Sessions Court on Monday rejected Sreedharan’s petition seeking a fresh post-mortem for the bodies of his brother Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha who were killed on November 24. The Maoists’ families and rights activists have alleged that the encounter was staged. 

Rejecting Sreedharan’s petition, the court held that the post-mortem procedure was done by a team of experts and that there was no room for doubt in that regard.

However, the court said that the relatives can access the video footage of the post mortem procedure that was conducted at Kozhikode Medical College. A notice will be sent out to the families of Ajitha and Kuppu Devaraj informing them about the order. 

Sreedharan's advocate PA Pouran told The News Minute that Sreedharan is set to appeal the order in the Kerala High Court. 

"As of now, Sreedharan will not claim his brother's body, since he has to consult with his family members, including his mother who are not in Kerala right now," Advocate Pouran said. 

On November 24, police claimed to have encountered Maoists in the Paduka forests, in which Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha, were killed. Rights activists and the killed Maoists families have alleged that the encounter was fake. 

The relatives of the two Maoists refused to claim the bodies from Kozhikode Medical College. In response to a petition filed by Sreedharan, the Manjeri Sessions Court ordered that the bodies should not be cremated till December 5. 

With the stipulated time ending at 7 pm on Monday, a senior police official told The News Minute that the police would go ahead to cremate the bodies if the families refuse to claim the bodies.