New Delhi: Amidst widespread condemnation of the brutal encounter killings of 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu by the AP police, the Supreme Court on Thursday indicated that it would consider taking up the issue at the earliest.

A bench headed by the Chief Justice H.L. Dattu told advocate Krishnamurthy that the court could consider the issue if a proper petition was filed by him. Earlier the advocate made a mention about the brutal manner in which 20 persons were killed on April 7 and pleaded for apex court’s intervention. The CJI told him “you file a proper petition. We will consider.”

Twenty woodcutters from Tamil Nadu, found felling red sanders, were killed in an alleged encounter in the Seshachalam forest at the foot of the Tirumala hills on Tuesday.

According to the AP police the newly formed Red-sanders Anti-Smuggling Taskforce was on a combing operation near Srinivasa Mangapuram, Srivarimettu and Eethagunta on the Seshachalam hill ranges on Monday when they found over 100 woodcutters felling trees and carrying logs.

After they failed to surrender and pelted stones and hurled sickles at the team, injuring some of them, they were killed in an encounter. The incident had sent shock waves across the country, in particular Tamil Nadu.