Home Minister Rajnath Singh phones Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to seek facts on the shooting of the 20 suspected sandalwood smugglers.

Twenty people were gunned down in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district in a police operation said to be against red sandalwood smugglers yesterday.

The operation came under severe attack from the government and political parties in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which claimed 12 victims were labourers from their state.

Taking suo motu note of the incident, the National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Andhra Pradesh government after one of its members observed that it involved "serious violation" of human rights of the individuals and the firing cannot be justified on the ground of self defence.

NHRC chief KG Balakrishnan has also issued a notice to the state government over the alleged encounter. "Police will always their justify actions. We will probe the incident," NHRC chief KG Balakrishnan said.

Meanwhile fresh protests have erupted in Chittoor and Chennai against the killing of red sanders "smugglers".