Arun Janardhanan
The report of the Justice Aruna Jagatheesan Commission of Inquiry into the 2018 firing in Thoothukudi and the killing of 13 anti-Sterlite protesters has leveled serious allegations against then Chief Minister Edappadi KK Palaniswami or EPS. A report tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday held 17 police officers, the district collector and three deputy tahsildars responsible for the firing.
The commission has also recommended a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the families of the deceased.
Days before the protesters laid siege to the Thoothukudi Collectorate and the subsequent police firing, the then state intelligence chief K.N. According to the report, Sathyamurthy had specific information about the dire situation and the participation of the fishermen community in the protest organized by left-wing organisations.
Intelligence chief Sathyamurthy, who went to Salem from Chennai to explain the situation in Thoothukudi in person to EPS, advised EPS to take steps to negotiate with the fisher folk after receiving information that many fishermen families were participating in the protest. A recommendation was made to appoint a Secretary of the Fisheries Department to prevent people from joining the agitation.
“It seems that the Chief Minister then replied that he would do the needful. “Unfortunately, the intelligence chief’s goodwill efforts did not yield any results and no follow-up action was immediately taken to defuse the situation,” the report said.
“It is puzzling to note how the intelligence agency concerned had immediately informed the Chief Minister of a message with the potential for a serious law and order situation, but how the message went unheeded. This appears to be a classic case of indifference and laziness, and it is likely that the problem could have been effectively dealt with at an early stage if this major problem of complexity had been seriously addressed,” the report said.
‘Apathetic’ collector who ignored peace meeting
A few weeks before the May 22, 2018 firing incident, Thoothukudi SP P. Mahendran wrote to District Collector N. Venkatesh on April 10, 2018, detailing the developing situation in the district, the role of various organizations involved in the protest and the pending cases against prominent protesters. He warned about
The statement said that SP Mahendran had raised a warning “out of concern that something or the other should be done to save the environment and to prevent a situation where various sections of the society claim to overwhelmingly assert the public cause”.
In his letter, SP Mahendran suggested that a systematic study of the entire issue should be conducted to assess the true impact of the Sterlite plant, study the pollution details and impacts. The report referred to the letter as “a well-meaning communication”.
But Collector Venkatesh did not reply to SP Mahendran. Collector Venkatesh submitted to the Commission that he had already alerted then Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan in WhatsApp messages to set up a team comprising medical experts and oncologists to study the impact of the Sterlite plant.
The report stated that even when the Collector sent WhatsApp messages to the Chief Secretary, no official information was sent regarding the “continuing volatile situation”.
A meeting of protesters on May 11, 2018 decided to lay siege to the Collectorate on May 22.
The commission observed that Collector Venkatesh should have made an effort to address the issue honestly while clarifying the public about the various actions taken by the government.
The report said the “failure and stagnation” of Collector Venkatesh was “too obvious and would only invite the perception and criticism that they are irresponsible and not responsible for the sufferings of the people”.
At a peace meeting called by the district collector on May 20, two days before the killing of 13 people, “the distressing fact is that Collector Venkatesh, caught up in a hotly contested issue, thought it fit not to preside over the peace committee meeting, leaving it to a sub-collector in third place to handle it lightly,” the statement said. It has been said.
Noting that the Collector was at his official residence, the report said, “he refrained from participating in the meeting for reasons best known to him.”
Despite intelligence reports that People’s Power, radical left organizations, the CPI(M)’s youth movement DYFI and the Tuticorin Students’ Federation were planning to attend the protest, they were not invited to the peace meeting. The report added that the district administration also avoided several political and religious organizations that played a prominent role in the protest. The report said, “Why the Christian community was not included in the peace meeting is not explained” as local churches and priests played a major role in the ongoing anti-Sterlite protests over the years.
The DGP, in his submission, said the Intelligence IG had provided a list of names of people involved in large-scale violence, but no precautionary arrests had been made. Of the 67 people on the list, only three were taken into pretrial detention as police said the others had absconded.
On the day of the protest, the SP, who was supposed to assess the severity of the situation, asked for a limited number of vehicles and police, the report alleged.
“Had more Vajra vehicles been provided, in all likelihood, the protesters could have been dealt with more effectively in dispersing them using tear gas, which would have prevented the need to use weapons…” the report said.
After the shooting, lack of coordination with health authorities “could not immediately go to save those who were seriously injured and fighting for their lives and could not be saved by providing emergency medical aid…” the report said.
According to the report, the firing took place between 12 noon and 1.30 am inside and outside the district collectorate. Another firing took place at 3 pm in Thresapuram, killing a total of 12 people. The report also noted major lapses, procedural violations and derailment of procedures in granting permission to fire.
The report names 17 police officers who should be held individually and jointly responsible for the incident. Among them are IPS officers Shailesh Kumar Yadav and Kapil Kumar C. Sarathkar who were Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General respectively, Thoothukudi SP, Mahendran, Deputy SP Lingathirumaran, Inspectors Thirumalai, Hariharan and Parthiban.
Also, Head Constable A. Raja, Sub-Inspectors Sornamani, Rennes, Grade-2 Constables Raja, Thandavamurthy, Grade-1 Constables Shankar, Sudalaikannu (who fired 17 rounds), Satish Kumar, M. Kannan and Constable Madhivanan were convicted.
The report observed that SPs Mahendran and Arun Sakthi Kumar went on a ‘firefight’ with Sudalaikannu that killed three people without the instructions of the IG.
The commission also recommended that appropriate departmental action be taken against Collector Venkatesh “for acting in a manner reminiscent of dereliction of duty” and recommended action against three officials posted in Tuticorin: Zonal Deputy Tahsildar Kannan, Divisional Excise Officer Chandran, Deputy Tahsildar (Election) Shekhar.
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