Headlines
Andhra police killed 20 with impunity: CPI-M
New Delhi, April 8
The CPI-M said on Wednesday
that the Andhra Pradesh Police claim on the killing of 20 people
cutting red sanders wood was untenable and demanded compensation to the
victims' families.
A CPI-M statement said that the people killed
in the Seshachalam forest in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday were labourers
hired for cutting down red sanders wood by those who illegally trade in
it.
"The police claims regarding the incident are untenable as
there is sufficient evidence to show that these labourers were killed
with impunity," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.
"The
state government and the police authorities have been failing to check
the smuggling of red sanders. Instead of taking appropriate measures in
this regard, ordinary workers have become the target of police
brutality," it said.
The CPI-M demanded a judicial enquiry into
the killings. "The Andhra Pradesh government should also provide full
compensation to the families of those killed."