CHENNAI: The Chennai police has invoked the draconian Goondas Act on a group of activists who recently took out a rally at Marina Beach to commemorate the civilian victims of the Eelam war. While such protests violating prohibitory orders are treated as a civil issue, city police commissioner A K Viswanathan on Monday issued orders to detain the four activists under the law that is meant to prevent habitual criminals from securing bail.
G Thirumurugan Gandhi, who is the founder of the pro-Eelam May 17 organisation, and three other members were arrested on May 21 evening when around 300 people took out a flash rally defying prohibitory orders of the city police. The organisation had called for a candle light vigil at Marina beach to mark the anniversary of the Mullivaikal genocide in northern Sri Lanka during the final phase of the Eelam war between Sri Lankan army and LTTE.
Goondas Act is generally invoked against persons with a history of criminal cases. In its statement on Monday, the Chennai police just listed the names of the police stations in which the four detainees have cases booked against them. But the nature of the cases were not mentioned. The statement said all the four detainees were “continuously involved in offenses and disturbing public peace”.
A senior police officer reasoned that all four were involved in “violating public order” and they were detained under the Goondas Act based on the history of cases against them.
The three other persons detained are D Arun Kumar (27), M Taison (27), and U Jagan alias Elamaran (32).
The move has evoked strong criticisms from Opposition leaders. DMK leader M K Stalin termed it as shutting down of freedom of expression. “The commemoration for the killings of Eelam Tamils are conducted every year and the same police had given protection for it,” Stalin said in a hard-hitting statement. He said the police had been treating Marina beach as a riot-torn area and had been terrorising people by refusing even peaceful assembly of people on the beach.
MDMK chief Vaiko in his statement pointed out that marriage of Arun Kumar, one of the detainees, was scheduled for July 3. “Staging protests, fasts and rallies are democratic rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Usually police deny permission for any such protest, but they arrest and release them later. Invoking Goondas Act without any enquiry and preventing them form coming out on bail is against democratic principles,” said G Ramakrishnan, State secretary of CPM.