A fact-finding team of rights activists, constituted under the aegis of Tamil Nadu-based People’s Watch, was denied entry into the reserve forests of Seshachalam on Tuesday.
The team, led by People’s Watch executive director Henri Tiphagne, which wanted to verify facts pertaining to the recent “Seshachalam Encounter”, was blocked by police officials, as they did not have the necessary documents.
Former Mumbai High Court Judge H. Suresh, who was part of the team, said the killing of 20 woodcutters had no justification. “If there is any justification [for the firing], the facts should be presented before the team. We want to know the truth, and we do not know who is guilty and not guilty. It is imperative to know what happened here,” he added.
On being denied entry to the scene of the encounter, Mr. Suresh said the team was entitled to draw its own inference as to why the Forest Department had denied them access. Meanwhile, speaking to The Hindu , Divisional Forest Officer (Tirupati Wildlife) G. Srinivasulu said: “According to Sections 27 and 28 of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), people who want to enter the sanctuary need to obtain permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden. The team approached officials after reaching the spot. So, we explained the process and urged the team to cooperate with the Forest Department,” he added. Other members of the fact-finding team included former diplomat Satyabrata Pal, former Director-General of Border Security Force E.N. Rammohan, forensic expert S. Suresh and Tamil Nadu MLA M.H. Jawahirulla.
