Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday rejected the Opposition’s demand in the Rajya Sabha for a CBI or judicial probe into the alleged killing of 20 woodcutters in a forest by Andhra Pradesh police, saying there was no such demand from the State Government. However, when CPI leader D Raja raised the issue again, Singh also clarified that the killing cannot be termed as ‘fake encounters’ till the final judgement on the matter, adding that the human rights bodies have taken cognisance of the matter with regard to paying compensation to the next of kin of the victims.
Asserting that the Home Minister has given the version of the Andhra Pradesh Government, members especially Raja, TK Rangarajan (CPI-M) and EMS Natchiappan (Cong) demanded a CBI probe, while D Bandyopadhyay (TMC) sought a judicial enquiry by a Supreme Court or High Court judge. Addressing the concerns of some members, Singh said: “I want to make clear that the police and public order is a state subject. The statement we gave was as per information received by the AP Government, we have not made any addition or subtraction.”
On the demands of a CBI enquiry by some members, the Home Minister informed the House that this can be done when there is a request from the state government. On some members’ demand for setting up of a judicial panel to probe the incident, he said if court gives permission the government will certainly do it. While KC Tyagi (JD-U) demanded a SIT probe, D Bandyopadhyay (TMC) sought a judicial probe by a Supreme Court or High Court judge.
On the issue of compensation to victims, the Minister said, “National and State Human Rights Commission have taken cognizance of the matter. After the judicial outcome, the Andhra Pradesh Government will follow the order.” Singh informed the concerned members that the AP Government has decided to constitute Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code to investigate the case. Meanwhile, Raja said he found it hard to believe that the AP Police had fired in self defence and it was not an encounter.