Red sandalwood smuggling: No CBI probe says Supreme Court

New Delhi, April 27: The Supreme Court has rejected a petition seeking a CBI probe into the killing of red sandalwood smugglers. As a result of this order it would be the Andhra Pradesh state which will continue to probe into the incident.

The AP government had even constituted a special team to look into the killing of the smugglers after allegations questioning the operation were made. 20 persons alleged to be red sandalwood smugglers were shot dead by the AP police at the Seshachalam hill range two weeks back.

The allegation against the state of AP:

The allegation was that the AP police had shot down innocent wood cutters. It was pointed out that no person involved in the smuggling of red sanders or an associate had been arrested so far.

Only the CBI can bring out the real picture in the case, the petition had stated. Further it was also stated that several persons were innocent by standers who were picked up and placed in the forest and asked to pose as smugglers.

Since there is a lot of confusion and doubts raised by the people about how bonafide this incident was, it would be best to hand over the case to the CBI for investigation.

The Supreme Court however refused to entertain the petition and directed that the state shall continue to probe the case and submit its final report.

OneIndia News