Jumped out of Police Van, Escaped Death by Sliver, says 3rd Witness

By Express News Service

Published: 16th April 2015

VELLORE:  Even a week after the alleged encounter in Seshachalam Forest in Chittoor district, a 22 year-old youth, who escaped the clutches of Andhra police, is yet to overcome the terrorising experience, said a member of the fact-finding team.

The youth, Ilango, is now a crucial witness to prove that the encounter could be false. Ilango made good his escape from the head office of the Red Sander Anti-Smuggling Task Force located in the foothills during the late hours of April 6. 

M Illango and R Paneerselvam (24) of Melkanavayur village in Jawadhu Hills were picked up by a group of policemen from an auto in Nagri. “Pannerselvam took Ilango along with him, saying he had masonry work for the both of them, They reached Nagri by around 9 pm on April 6. After alighting from the bus, they went to a paani poori shop to eat,” said Executive Director of People’s Watch Tamil Nadu (PWTN) Henri Tiphange quoting Ilango in a statement made to the press in the presence of Ilango.

On seeing two policemen standing next to the stall, they walked away from the spot and took an auto. However, the auto was stopped by a group of armed police.

“The policemen pulled Illango and Pannerselvam out of the auto. One of the policemen telephoned and shouted something in Telugu. Within a few minutes, an Eicher van reached the spot. There were already 15 to 20 men in the vehicle,” he said.

The duo was asked to get into the vehicle and the men were taken away guarded by five to 10 policemen till the van came to a halt.  “The vehicle was travelling along the forest area for nearly one hour. Suddenly there was a bright light and a gate was opened. A few hundred yards further, it came to a halt. There were several damaged and rusted vehicles there,” he said.

Sensing something amiss, Ilango jumped off the vehicle and  disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

He climbed a hill and remained hidden for nearly three hours inside the forest. The next morning, he took a lift from a motorist to Keel Tirupathi. “He then took a bus to Vellore. From there, he reached Amirthi,  where he heard that some people from Jawadhu Hills were gunned down,” said another member of the fact-finding team.

Fearing for his life, he hid himself in the village. Former panchayat president of their village, K Chinnapaiyan, safeguarded him and handed him over to the PWTN to ensure his safety and expose the AP’s fake encounter.