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Credible probe into AP killings needed

Last Updated 08 April 2015, 19:39 IST

The killing of 20 woodcutters in the Seshachalam forests on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border by a special task force of the AP police has all the makings of a staged encounter rather than an act of self-defence. The task force claims that the woodcutters were red sanders smugglers who attacked the police when they were challenged. Even if the claim is true, the attack was with crude weapons like stones and sickles and did not warrant a retort with indiscriminate firing. It goes even beyond the ordinary norms of overreaction and use of disproportionate force. The self-defence theory is also riddled with inconsistencies and apparent contradictions. The killings happened at two places allegedly when the smugglers' gang was intercepted by the task force. But according to reports, the bodies of the dead woodcutters had burn injuries. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who is answerable, has not made any statement so far. State DGP J Ramulu needs to take responsibility for the incident. What is shocking is that two AP ministers – Pojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy and G Muddukrishnama Naidu – defended the police action before even an inquiry is initiated.

All these cast serious doubts about the police claim of an encounter and have led to a strong suspicion that it was a pre-meditated and cold-blooded killing. The practice of smuggling of red sanders from the Seshachalam forest cannot be denied. The wood, which is on the endangered list, commands high price in foreign markets. Its supply is restricted because of a ban on logging and private trade. Those who cut and collect the logs illegally from the forest are usually poor tribals from neighbouring villages. Many of them are Tamils. About 1,600 alleged smugglers were arrested recently in a crackdown by the AP government, which wants to increase its revenues by officially auctioning the wood.

The action against the alleged smugglers has assumed a political colour in AP with the state government claiming that the smugglers belong to an opposition party and the party denying it. It has also threatened to become an inter-state problem with the Tamil Nadu government and parties maintaining that the people of the state are being harassed and persecuted by the AP police. The AP government has ordered an inquiry into the incident but it will not carry credibility. The National Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the government. There is the need for a credible investigation into the killings, and those who are found guilty of illegal and excessive use of force should be brought to book. No state force has the right to kill people, even if they are law-breakers.

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(Published 08 April 2015, 19:39 IST)

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