Rejecting the claim of the Andhra Pradesh police that all the 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu were killed in an encounter, noted forensic expert P. Chandrasekaran said they were done to death at a different spot and their bodies were scattered at the “scene of encounter.”
All the victims were found lying on their back and drag marks on the ground clearly showed that they were killed in one place and dragged to another place, said Mr Chandrasekaran, who has watched the entire footage of the scene of crime.
Mr. Chandrasekaran, who has handled high-profile cases including the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, said absence of woodcutting equipment, such as axe and saw, in the encounter spot also confirmed his suspicion about the veracity of the police claim.
He said there were no trees in the background of the spot where the encounter was said to have taken place. There were bushes and the police placed logs on the ground to give the impression that the victims had cut them. “But there are no trunks and even the logs look quite old, chopped long ago,” he said.
Mr. Chandrasekaran said that all the victims are lying partially unclothed on the ground went to show that they were not involved in an encounter. “If there is an encounter the scene would have offered a different picture. All the victims are lying in similar position, proving that it is a set up,” he said.