Inquiry with Victims' kin in TN Tomorrow

Inquiry with Victims’ kin in TN Tomorrow

Posted on May 11, 2015 in Tamil Nadu

J Shanmugha Sundaram

TIRUVANNAMALAI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), following the preliminary report filed by the People’s Watch Tamil Nadu (PWTN) on April 23 and having taken suo motu cognizance of the encounters that took place in the Seshachalam Reserve Forest on April 7, as part of its ongoing investigations, will be conducting a four-day inquiry with the family members of the 20 victims in Tiruvannamalai and Dharmapuri districts commencing on Tuesday. 

The investigation team will be headed by Senior Superintendent of Police, Sumedha Dwivedi with three other police officers - I R Kurillose, Bimal Jit Uppal and Nitin Kumar - of the Investigation Division of the NHRC forming part of the investigation team.

“The NHRC has decided to send its own team to probe the sensitive case and also passed an order related to it on April 23,” said Executive Director of PWTN, Henri Tiphange.

Reliable sources in the district administration in Tiruvannamalai claimed that NHRC officials will conduct spot inquiries from May 12 to May 15 in Tiruvannamalai and Dharmapuri districts, record statements and collect relevant records of both the kin and of the victims gunned down by the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force.

“NHRC has requested the district administration to provide two liaison officers and two language interpreters to assist the investigation team,” said the source.

“We  have received information from NHRC regarding the recording of the statement of the victims’ families. We have given the names of the witnesses to the investigation team,” said K Balu, counsel of S Muniyammal, wife of A Sasi Kumar, who was one of the victims shot dead. NHRC has already recorded statements made by several members, who have contradicted AP police’s claim of an encounter between red sanders smugglers and the police.