Observing that it was a serious case of violation of human rights, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday recommended, among others, a CBI enquiry into the April 7 encounter with police, in which 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu were killed at Seshachalam forests of Andhra Pradesh.

The Commission directed the Centre and the Andhra Pradesh government to transfer the FIRs filed by the local police to the CBI and an action-taken report in four weeks.

Talking to reporters here, NHRC member Justice D. Murugesan said that the Commission has also recommended an interim relief of Rs. five lakh to each of the victim families in the incident.

A release from the NHRC stated that there were “good grounds to think that there was serious violation of human rights” considering the background of victims, delay in registering an FIR and the “reluctance” of the AP government in sharing even the basic information with the Commission.

Rs. 5 lakh relief

Holding that the families of victims “cannot be allowed to starve and die waiting for the final outcome” of the enquiry by the NHRC or investigation by any other agency, it directed the Andhra Pradesh government to pay Rs. five lakh each as immediate interim relief to the families of the 20 victims and file compliance in eight weeks.

The District Magistrate at Chittoor would disburse financial assistance to dependents of 13 victims who belonged to Scheduled Tribe under the provisions of the SC/ST (PoA) Rules.

The Commission further directed the investigating officer to get the statements of witnesses before a competent Magistrate in Tamil Nadu, while Tamil Nadu DGP would continue to provide adequate protection to witnesses - Sekhar, A. Balachandran and M. Illango and their families.

The Chief Secretary and the DGP of Andhra Pradesh are to appear in person before it on June 9 to furnish information and produce records as directed by the Commission in its earlier proceedings on April 13 and 23.

Our Chittoor Correspondent adds

Officials tight-lipped

The recommendation of the NHRC for a CBI inquiry into the Seshachalam hills killings has created ripples among police and Forest department officials in the district.

However, Chittoor Collector Siddarth Jain told The Hindu, “So far, I have no any official communication in this matter. I will respond once I know about it.”

Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force chief and DIG M. Kantha Rao said he could not make any statement on the issue following High Court directions.

Senior officials on condition of anonymity dubbed the recommendation hasty and prompted purely by the version of the family members of the deceased.

They doubted the possibility of a CBI probe, as the SIT investigation is still under way and it has still more than a month's time to submit its report to the AP High Court.