A decade after the Bijapur encounter in Chhattisgarh, an official report, tabled in the state assembly on Monday, has revealed that the eight killed in the operation in Edesmetta village in 2013 were not “Maoists” but tribal people. A judicial probe report, which was tabled by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, said the security forces had opened fire on tribal people celebrating Pandum festival in panic.Tribal rights groups were demanding that the report be made public and those guilty be punished for the incident. According to the report, the security forces passing through Edesmetta village in Bijapur district on the intervening night of May 17 and 18, 2013, had spotted a gathering and suspected that they were Maoists. Soon after the force members took position and opened fire on the crowd.The judicial probe had found that there was no aggression from the tribals as there was no evidence that they opened fire. The probe had categorically mentioned that the firing did not take place in self-defence.The enquiry commission had deduced that the firing took place in nervousness and was a direct result of mistaken identity from the side of security forces. A proper training, modern communication gadgets and state of art equipment could have averted the incident.It was revealed in the probe that the security force was advised not to pass through populated area on the fateful night. After the incident, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) battalion of the Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF) had said they had busted a Maoist hideout and eliminated eight of them who were holding villagers as shield. The dead included four children. The locals, however, had said they were celebrating the local festival when the incident took place. Read all the Latest News , Breaking News and Ukraine-Russia War Live Updates here.