Doubting the “self-defence” theory of the Andhra Pradesh police, who gunned down 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Thursday asked the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister to conduct an inquiry to bring out the truth and take action accordingly.
Breaking her silence on the Andhra Pradesh shooting in Seshachalam forests, Ms. Jayalalithaa, in a statement here, said she was pained and grieved to hear the news of the firing and the high casualties.
“The statements of the activists and the published photographs raise doubts if the Andhra Pradesh police were justified in their action,” she said. Even if the labourers were involved in the smuggling of red sanders, it remains doubtful if the red sanders anti-smuggling unit had only used the required force, the former Chief Minister said.
She granted a solatium of Rs 2 lakh from the party funds to the families of each of the deceased. Ms. Jayalalithaa’s statement has come in the wake of criticism that she has maintained silence on the alleged human rights violation, when the whole nation is shocked.
