People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on Tuesday condemned the "shooting down of 20 people" in Seshachalam hill ranges in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district and demanded immediate registering of an FIR, including charges of murder, against the officials concerned.
"It's a misnomer to call this (as) an encounter, for in reality what has happened is a massacre of people alleged to have been involved in illegal felling," said PUCL National General Secretary Dr V Suresh.
Stating that illegal felling of red sanders trees had been going on for many years in Chittoor district, he said such a huge (smuggling) trade could not have happened without the active collusion and involvement of officials of the Departments of Forest, Police and Revenue.
He said FIR should be registered under charges of murder and a conspiracy to murder among others.
Suresh said "not even a twig" can be removed without the Forest department knowing about it.
"This massacre is nothing but an attempt to hoodwink the public about the wholesale deforestation that has been taking place because of the involvement of Forest officials," he said.
