Pro-Tamil group protests against Chittoor encounter

Activists of a pro-Tamil group, Dravidar Viduthalai Katchi, took to the streets in Chennai on Thursday to protest against the alleged encounter of 20 suspected sandalwood smugglers.

"20 poor labourers from Tamil Nadu were massacred in Andhra Pradesh. We feel they were already killed and only they were thrown at the site and shot by the police. Moreover there are thousands of people languishing in jail for a long period and more than hundreds are disappearing. So, Tamil Nadu government should take necessary actions," said convenor of Dravidar Viduthalai Katchi, Kolathur Mani.

Mani alleged there were several cuts on the body of the victims.

Family members of some of the deceased also found out that the dead bodies' arms and legs were amputated, whereas one dead body had teeth missing.

Several human rights organisations have decried the police action and said that police gunned down the men in a fake encounter.

The killings sparked tensions between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with the Andhra government saying the men from the neighbouring state were red sandalwood smugglers, while Tamil Nadu said they were innocent labourers.

The encounter was the biggest operation in years to stamp out smuggling in remote forests in Chittoor district early this month. Most of the suspected smugglers hailed from Tamil Nadu.