Many doubts in ‘sandalwood smugglers’ case
law enforcement authorities must thoroughly investigate the controversial death of 20 men, who were allegedly sandalwood smugglers, at the hands of the police earlier this month. There has been talk of foul play ever since news of the deaths first came to the fore, but with every passing day, the case has only become murkier, as conflicting versions of the incident have emerged from various sources. According to the police, the men were killed in self-defence by the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force, after it came under attack from a large group of smugglers.
The incident was similar to the 2013 attack when scores of loggers surrounded two police officers and stoned them to death, leading to the formation of the task force, its chief Maganti Kantha Rao has insisted. Now, there is no doubt that policemen seeking to protect the endangered sandalwood tree in the dense forests, on the borders of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have a tough job on their hands. The illegal sandalwood trade is a large and lucrative one, as the precious wood fetches huge sums in China, Japan and South-East Asian markets. loggers are willing to go to great lengths to secure their loot. Consequently, policemen who are on the patrol often have to take difficult decisions involving life and death, in a matter of a few seconds. However, it is far from clear if the April 7 encounter in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district was one such case.
On April 13, two eyewitnesses told the National Human Right Commission that at least some of the victims had been bussed into the forest area and taken away by policemen in plainclothes at a checkpoint. This points to a case of custodial deaths, if not cold-blooded murder. This version is also strengthened by claims from the victims' family members that the men were daily wage labourers who had been taken on a job assignment. Rights activists have also pointed out that preliminary analysis of the blood splatter at the site of the killing and the victims' gunshot wounds is not consistent with the self-defence theory.
They also ask: If the task force did indeed come under an attack from the smugglers, then how come there are no injured persons from either side but only dead bodies from one groupIJ To make matters worse, the professional record of chief Rao, who presents himself as a tough officer, has some dark spots: For example, in 2007, in the immediate aftermath of the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad, he ordered a police firing which killed five persons. The firing was severely criticised for excessive use of police force. It was also during Mr Rao's tenure that some 10 reported woodcutters were killed in police encounters in the months following the 2013 attack. Finally, the task force has a reputation for taking down lower-rung loggers while the kingpins of the sandalwood trade remain untouched. These have helped to sow the seeds of doubt in the public's mind and spark protests.