Chennai: The Seshachalam forest encounter on April 7, in which 20 persons from Tamil Nadu lost their lives "is a clear case of illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, custodial torture and extra- judicial killing", People’s Watch, has said. The fact-finding report of the human rights NGO said a team from the organisation visited the crime spot, concerned police station, hospital, post-mortem centres and villages of the deceased victims, along with the members of Citizens for Human Rights Movement, immediately on April 7.
The findings of the team challenged the state’s claim of the men cutting down red sanders trees and attacking policemen and foresters of the anti-smuggling task force. The organisation said bullet marks were indicative of the deceased having been shot at from close range. Many bodies bore rope marks on the limbs indicating that the victims had been tied. Red sanders logs found at the site bore the government stamp and number in white colour as was being done in the case of a seizure and stored in the forest department's godowns.
The Director, Programs, People’s Watch, Mathew Jacob, says, “The bodies of the deceased were lying in open space for about 15 hours without being removed for post-mortem resulting in the loss of crucial evidence."There were many unanswered questions regarding the injuries on the bodies, the report said..“It is now 33 days after the incident leading to the death of 20 persons. And so, there is an urgent need for an immediate, independent and impartial investigation in a time-bound manner by a special investigation team,” says Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director, People’s Watch.The NGO team along with National Human Rights Commission Members will make a visit again on May 12 and 13.
