New Delhi - A southern Indian city was shut down by protests on Wednesday after police killed 20 suspected sandalwood smugglers in the forests of Andhra Pradesh state.
While police have said they fired on men who were attacking them “with axes and other sharp-edged weapons” last week, at least two witnesses have told the National Human Rights Commission that the men were pulled off a bus and shot while in custody.
A week of protests has followed the killings. Political parties called a protest on Wednesday that shut down the city of Pondicherry. Most shops were shut and private buses stayed off the roads as police patrolled the streets. No violence was reported.
The rights commission has asked the local government to start an inquiry into the killings.
Most of the men killed in the April 7 encounter were from Tamil Nadu state, which shares a boundary with Andhra Pradesh.
Police officials have said they were searching for 200 smugglers believed to have been cutting down trees overnight near the Hindu pilgrimage town of Tirupati.
In the past smugglers have attacked and even killed security troops. The Anti-Smuggling Task Force, which was responsible for the shooting, was created in 2013 after loggers killed two forest officials.
The smuggling of red sandalwood is rampant in southern India, with one ton going for up to $80 000 on the black market due to high demand in countries such as China and Japan where its rich red wood used to make furniture, sculpture and toys.
The rare tree grows in only a few districts in Andhra Pradesh and the government restricts its export. The limited supply has led to a thriving black market for the prized lumber.
AP