AP police encounter: Were Some Picked Up a Day Ago?

By J Shanmugha Sundaram 
Published: 09th April 2015

TIRUVANNAMALAI: It would be a shocking revelation, if proved. A 45-year-old from Polur taluk has claimed that seven of his companions were picked up by Andhra police while they were on en route to Tirupati, just a day before they were gunned down in the AP ‘encounter’.

Devastated family members of Sasikumar, who was killed in the ‘encounter’, at Vattigaripalayam in Tiruvannamalai district, on Wednesday | S Dinesh

Sekar, from Polur Taluk, told villagers he was among eight persons who were on their way to Tirupati, from where they were to make their way to the Seshachalam forest area to fell red sanders. Five families Express spoke to said the slain men had given different excuses for going out of town and that they had not spoken about the red sanders. The group assembled at Padavedu on Monday afternoon and took the bus to Vellore. They then hopped on to the bus from Tiruthani to Tirupati. From Tirupati, the eight planned to sneak into the forest area. They were reportedly engaged by Venkatesan of Pudur, an agent of the red sanders mafia, who promised them a daily wage of Rs 1,000.

Everything went according plan till the bus reached Nagari around 6 pm on Monday. “The AP police stopped the bus and picked up the seven members,” said P Murthy of Anthanapuram panchayat, quoting Sekar. 

P Murthy of Anthanapuram panchayat went on to add, “However, Sekar, who was sitting separately from the group next to a woman, said he managed to give the police the slip. He claimed that two stops after police picked up his associates, he alighted from the bus and returned to his native place.”

Sekar reached his village late on Monday night and reportedly informed Panchayat president Santhamurthi about the arrest of the seven persons — S Mahendran (22), G Moorthy (38) and G Munusamy (35) of Murugapadi, V Palani (35) of Kalasamuthiram and K Perumal (37), A Sasikumari (34)  and M Murugan (38)  of Vettagiripalayam — by the AP police. The information, in turn, was also communicated to a few of their family members.

Devastated wife of victim Palani, with her newborn child, in Vattigaripalayam in Tiruvannamalai on Wednesday | S DINESH

S Raja Babu, Union Councillor of Ananthapuram, had also been informed. “We thought it was a regular arrest and we were set to apply for bail the next day. However, much to our shock, television showed flash news and images of their bodies,” he said.

The sight of their slain family members on TV sent shock waves through their households and shattered them. “Sekar was petrified. Fearing police action, he disappeared from the village shortly after seeing the video footage of his lifeless companions in the forest area,” said another villager.

The relatives and neighbours of those killed gathered in large numbers in front of Kannamangalam Police Station and demanded stern action against the AP police.  “Seven from our village and neighbouring villages were arrested 10 hours before the so called encounter by the AP police in Nagari. We have an eyewitness to prove it. It clearly shows that all 20 were arrested elsewhere by the special task force and brutally gunned down. It’s an inhuman act,” said an angry young woman and the relative of one of the persons killed in the shootout.

DSP of Arni, N Mani, when asked about the villagers’ claims, said that they were on the lookout for Sekar. But he is at large.

Civil Liberties Committee  State executive committee member K Kranti Chaitanya too echoed the villagers’ version. He said that the seven had been picked up on the way to Tirupati, asking, “What else is needed to prove that the encounter in Seshachalam hills was not a genuine one?” He also demanded that murder cases be registered against the policemen.