HC directs AP govt to book murder case

In a move that has put the Andhra Pradesh government in an embarrassing position, the High Court in Hyderabad on Friday directed the government to register a case of murder against the concerned under Section 302 relating to the recent killing of 20 woodcutters in the Seshachalam hill ranges near Tirupati.

A division bench comprising of Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar were hearing a petition moved by Chilaka Chandra Sekhar, general secretary of the Civil Liberties Committee, seeking a direction to book a case under Section 302 of IPC (Murder) against the police personnel involved in the encounter and also demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

The bench wondered how the AP government could slap cases against the woodcutters who lost their lives in the ‘encounter’.  Explaining the stand of the government,  additional advocate general D Srinivas said the AP government has ordered a magisterial enquiry and announced its willingness to submit details to the National Human Rights Commission, which has issued notice to the government in this regard. The bench adjourned the case to Monday.

Meanwhile the Special Task Force (STF) is continuing its combing operations in Tollagutta and Anumakona areas of the Seshachalam forests. The STF believes that smugglers are still active in the forests in spite of repeated written requests to the Tamil Nadu government to restrict the entry of woodcutters into the forest.

The STF believes that smugglers have opened a new route to Seshachalam because their entry points from Tamil Nadu  are almost closed and it is too risky to send in woodcutters through known routes. The new route is via Karnataka. “The new route is Bangalore, Guntakal, Kadapa, Rajampet, and Raichur to Sundupally and finally into the forest area,” a senior police officer said.

Sources in STF say that the woodcutters who escaped the ‘encounter’ are still trapped in the forest and are in pitiable condition without water or rations. The STF has sealed the entry and exit points of Venkatigiri and Ravuru in Nellore district, Pincha, Sanipaya, Koduru, Kukkaladoddi and Mamanduru of Kadapa district, Bhakarapet, Talakona, Kalyanidam, Srivarimettu and Tirumala in Chittoor district.