A Madurai-based NGO’s fact-finding team on a recent incident involving the death of two Tamil Nadu labourers, who allegedly died after being taken in custody by the Andhra Pradesh forest officials, has said that, belonging to the scheduled tribal (ST) Malayalee community, they were part of several tribals from various villages of Sitheri Panchayat, Harur Taluk, Dharmapuri District, being taken to Andhra Pradesh on November 21, 2021 to work as wage workers.

Being taken in a Tata van with the ostensible aim to work for saddle wood smugglers, the driver of the van came to know that the forest officials were trying to catch the van. “The labourers who were traveling in the van were informed that the forest officials were chasing them. He stopped the van and jumped away. Thereafter one of the forest officials drove the van. The labourers and van came under the custody of the forest officials”, the report said.

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