PUDUCHERRY: Justice D Murugesan, member of the National Human Rights Commission, on Thursday said the killing of 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu in Seshachalam forest by the Andhra special police force and forest officials is a clear case of blatant violation of human rights.
Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of NHRC camp sitting here on Thursday, he termed it as a “massacre”. He said that the NHRC was carrying out a simultaneous investigation into the incident though the AP Special Investigation Team has been conducting a probe.
Justice Murugesan said the matter was before the Hyderabad High Court which has been monitoring the investigation.
NHRC would collect all evidences and would go ahead with its probe abiding by the guidelines of the High Court. Revealing that three witnesses from Tamil Nadu had deposed before the Commission in New Delhi and Puducherry, he said an NHRC team visited the spot to collect information. The witnesses, their family members and relatives would be given police protection by the Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu following their apprehension that their lives were in danger.
Referring to a request by a lawyer on behalf of the residents of nearby areas of the Andhra forest, who have expressed their willingness to give their statements on the issue, he said the NHRC had asked them for a written request on the matter so that the sitting could be held in Chennai.
It may recalled that the witness Ilango (21), a resident of Jamunamarathur, Tiruvannamalai district, had recorded his statement before A K Parashar, joint registrar (law), NHRC in Puducherry on April 15. The NHRC has also recorded statements of Sekar (Thiruvannamalai) and Balamurugan (Dharmapuri) on the April 7 killings.
Sit checks out ‘encounter’ spot
Tirupati: A day after a meeting with Tirupati Urban police, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) visited the two encounter sites where 20 red sanders wood cutters were gunned down by the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force of Andhra Pradesh.