Government had received 11,000 applications and land has been identified for 4,000 of them
NCST vice chairperson Ravi Thakur gives some money to victims' families whose grievances he heard at Chepauk Guest House in Chennai on Friday (Photo Credit: DC)
Chennai: Vice chairperson of National Commission of Scheduled Tribes (NCST) Ravi Thakur has urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide four hectares plus a job each to families of the 20 woodcutters killed in the Sesachalam forest firing. Principal secretary, state forest department Hans Raj Verma, who had accompanied the chief secretary and DGP to meet the NCST vice chairperson at Chepauk Guest House,is understood to have told that the government had received 11,000 applications and land has been identified for 4,000 of them. “Land will be distributed as soon as a stay (in this regard) order issued by a court in this regard is vacated,” Thakur quoted the forest secretary as saying.
By evening, Thakur started to Tirupati where he will inquire the district collector, forest and superintendent of police on Saturday. He will also meet the chief secretary, DGP and forest secretary of AP a few days from now, as did he in TN this morning. Relatives still in shock: Thakur: “I am here to get information from the ground and find out what actually happened (in the forest) that day?” he said, adding, “The relatives (families) I met are still in a state of shock. They (relatives) are unable to believe that the police had killed. It is very unfortunate,” he explained.
“They said the arms and limbs were broken. Bodies were burnt. Eyes were plucked. A re-postmortem has been ordered,” he added, admitting to relatives complaining to him orally about the whole incident.Police could have fired just one round if they wanted to shoo them away: “It is a welfare state, a democracy, not a feudal state. If the police wanted to shoo them away, they could have done it by firing one round. But they have fired many rounds Anyhow, police inquiry is on. The High Court in Andhra Pradesh is also seized of the matter. Let us wait for the probe,” Thakur said, adding that he would table a report of his findings before the NHRC and the ST commission.
Next Story
