An investigation team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will visit Tiruvannamalai and Dharmapuri on May 12 and 13 respectively to record statements of witnesses in the April 7 encounter case. Twenty woodcutters were killed in the incident in Seshachalam forests, Andhra Pradesh.
According to sources, the team would be led by a Special Superintendent of Police and would include a Deputy Superintendent of Police and a translator. The team would be meeting the family members of 12 victims from Tiruvannamalai district at the Tiruvannamalai Collectorate on May 12. The team will also meet the family members of seven victims from Dharmapuri district and the lone victim from Salem district at Dharmapuri collectorate on May 13.
Plea dismissed
In Madurai, a magistrate court dismissed on Friday the plea of three witnesses in the killing of 20 woodcutters to record their statements under Section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure, following an order passed by the National Human Rights Commission.
The three witnesses – M. Ilango (20), P. Sekar (55) and A. Balachandran (29) — had filed a plea to record their statements through a petition filed by Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director, People’s Watch.