The woodcutters found by the Andhra Pradesh police party allegedly cutting red sanders in the forest near Tirupati last week did not open fire at all, but only showed firearms, going by the First Information Report.
The FIR, a copy of which is available with The Hindu , contains no mention of their shooting at anyone, but says the alleged smugglers, 20 of whom were slain, hurled stones, arrows, sickles and axes at the combing special party. Going by the time of registering the FIR, there was more than a six-hour gap between the incident and the case being booked.
The FIR, based on a complaint lodged by Forest Beat Officer C. Kodandan, says the incident occurred between 5.30 a.m. and 6 a.m. in the Seshachalam forest.
The complainant claims the party “noticed hundreds of persons speaking Tamil language” and that the Special Task Force personnel identified themselves as police.
But there was no response from the other side when they called out to them identifying themselves as police.
It mentions that some in the combing party suffered injuries, but does not mention the number of those wounded or the nature of the injuries.
Case registered six hours after incident, doesn’t explain police injuries
