Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday, April 14, promised to help the families of men who were shot down by the Andhra Pradesh Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Special Task Force in the Seshachalam Forests on April 7, in 2015. The Chief Minister was responding to a video report by The News Minute’s Shabbir Ahmed. TNM travelled to the Sitheri hills in Dharmapuri to meet the victims of the alleged encounter.
Retweeting the video story, Stalin called April 7, 2015 a ‘black day for the state’. “A black day for the state when 20 persons from TN were shot down in Andhra Pradesh on this day in 2015. My heart goes out to the families. The government of TN will support the families in their legal battle for justice. We will also extend all other assistance to them (sic),” he tweeted.
A black day for the state when 20 persons from TN were shot down in Andhra Pradesh on this day in 2015. My heart goes out to the families.
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 13, 2022
The government of TN will support the families in their legal battle for justice. We will also extend all other assistance to them. https://t.co/9YjUVx7Vl9
On Friday, April 15, TNM learnt that district officials in Dharmapuri district are visiting Sitheri hills to meet the families of those who were killed. A team led by the Tehsildar will be visiting Arasanatham village in Sitheri hills in Dharmapuri district.
Seven years later, the families of the victims of the alleged extra-judicial killings are yet to receive justice. The Andhra Pradesh police said that the 20 men were part of a racket to fell and smuggle the precious Red Sanders trees and that they were gunned down after the group attacked the forces with axes and stones. However, the families have maintained that the men were only daily wage labourers who were killed in a fake encounter.
The fight for the justice of these 20 men has stretched on for six years now. There are multiple petitions pending both in the Andhra Pradesh High Court as well as in the lower judiciary. Following the incident, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Andhra Pradesh government probed the incident. In 2016, the SIT filed a closure report citing lack of evidence to prosecute the police personnel involved in the encounter. The families challenged the SIT’s closure report and this case is currently pending in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
Speaking to Shabbir, the families said that they have received no support from the Tamil Nadu government and felt let down in their fight. “We did not receive any help from the government to ensure that this case is investigated. They gave us some money initially and post that, there has been no help on any other front,” said Mallika, wife of Harikrishnan, one among the 20 who were killed.
In 2015, the National Human Rights Commission had termed the Red Sanders encounter a “serious violation of human rights”. The NHRC had also ordered a CBI probe into the killings. However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court stayed the NHRC order asking for a CBI probe. Activists in Tamil Nadu are now asking for the state government to intervene to vacate the stay.
Watch the ground report below.