CPI protests against Chittoor encounter, accuses police of 'concocting' story

Workers of the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday staged a protest here against the police encounter in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district, which led to the death of 20 alleged red sanders smugglers.

The protestors alleged that no encounter had taken place, accusing the Andhra police of 'concocting' a story.

"The incident has the conscious of the people. The police may concoct and fabricate any story as usual. They say it is encounter, but there is no encounter at all. In their own statement, they admit that smuggling had been taking place for the last 10 years and that red sanders worth crores has been smuggled out of the country," said one of the protestors.

"Such a gigantic effort couldn't have been done by these 20. Why was the police not able to prevent it and why they could not arrest even one? These people were just cutting the trees, there is a mafia gang with political backing behind it," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) party had also protested against the Andhra Pradesh government over the incident in Chennai.

On Tuesday, the police in Chittoor confirmed the encounter killing of at least 20 persons reportedly involved in the smuggling of Red Sanders trees. Andhra Deputy Chief Minister China Rajappa was quoted by media as saying that a task force of the Andhra Pradesh Special Police carried out the operation on receiving information about the smuggling activity.