New Delhi: Thol. Thirumavalavan, president of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, has moved the Supreme Court for a probe by a Special Investigation Team headed by former CBI director R.K. Raghavan into the alleged fake encounter killings of 20 labourers from Tamil Nadu by the Andhra Pradesh police on April 7.
In a writ petition, Mr Thirumavalavan alleged that in an undeclared war on innocent, people living around the AP-Tamil Nadu border areas were being harassed, arrested and killed in fake encounters.
He said that in the encounter on April 7, 20 woodcutters from the districts of Krishnagiri, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai were killed “in the most brutal manner.”
He said the labourers go to AP to cut red sander trees in the Seshachalam hill ranges spread over 350 km. At least seven workers were picked up by the police and were kept in the deep forest to give the spin that they were killed in exchange of fire. The killing of woodcutters started a year ago, he said.
He said many human right activists, after going though the circumstances and nature of injuries on the body of victims, had held that it was a fake encounter and claimed that the version of police was a smoke screen. He alleged that the AP police had failed to follow due procedure on encounters.
