CHENNAI: It caused an upheaval in social media. But the commission probing the violence and alleged police excesses at the fag-end of the jallikattu protests is finding it difficult to get enough evidence due to the pathetic number of people who are willing to testify against the police before the commission.
The commission, headed by former High Court judge S Rajeswaran, said on Wednesday that poor response from public had made investigation very hard. “More evidence has been submitted by the police than the public,” Justice Rajeswaran said, adding that the public needed to submit a ‘sworn affidavit’ to the commission, so that the inquiry could consider their evidence.
The commission was set up earlier this year, in order to investigate the violence that took place on January 23 that caused severe damage to public and private property.
The public reported police excess and the police reported vandalism on the part of the public and several complaints were lodged in this respect in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and a few other districts where the protests took place.Though several victims of violence have sent written letters to the commission, very few have submitted a ‘sworn affidavit’, Rajeswaran said.
“We have received 128 affidavits so far, of which 93 are from police, 17 are from public who are in support of the police, four are from firemen and only 14 from public against the police,” he said, adding that without the affidavit, the evidence they submit cannot be considered as per The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952.
Most of the affidavits that the commission has received came from Chennai.
“During my field visits hundreds of people complained to me of police excess. However these complaints have not come across in the form of legal documents,” he said. The deadline for the submission of affidavits has been extended to April 30 to increase the number of affidavits from the public.
Once an affidavit is sent, the commission has the power to summon both people with and without the power for inquiry. Video and photographic evidence too can be produced during the period of investigation only after the submission of affidavit.
“This is an independent commission of inquiry. We can have a fair proceeding only if the public came forward and worked with us,” Rajeswaran said.