TN protests as AP says action against smugglers in 'self-defence'

Protests erupted across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday over the Andhra Pradesh Police gunning down 20 woodcutters even as police personnel claimed the killings were in self-defence.

Political parties and rights groups have even alleged that the woodcutters, in search of jobs, were picked up from a bus and murdered in cold blood.

They demanded a probe independent of the Andhra Pradesh government and by a Supreme Court judge.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of the woodcutters.

With protests emanating from across the border, the Andhra Pradesh government’s media advisor Parakala Prabhakar maintained that it was an encounter in which “smugglers” attacked policemen with sickles, stones and axes.

“It was purely self-defence. Our forces opened fire when they were outnumbered by the smugglers. Previously, we had lost six brilliant officers at the hands of smugglers,” he said, refuting allegations that they were shot from close range.

He also dismissed charges that the woodcutters were picked up from a bus and killed in captivity.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairperson K G Balakrishnan told reporters in Thiruvanthapuram on Wednesday that no hasty conclusion would be made about the encounter in the Seshachalam forests of Andhra Pradesh, where 20 men were shot dead on Tuesday. The NHRC would take up proceedings in connection with the police shootout based on a report submitted by the Andhra Pradesh government.