THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As a judicial inquiry is on into the Cheriyathura riot and subsequent police firing in 2009, Sanjay Kaul, the then District Collector of Thiruvananthapuram, said he was not well informed of the proceedings by the police to contain the riot. He was giving his statement before District Judge K Ramakrishnan, who is the inquiry commission.
Sanjay Kaul, presently the managing director of Gujarat Tourism Corporation, stood by the statement of facts produced before the Commission about two weeks ago, in which he had stated that the police informed him about the firing only after it took place. His statements indicated that the police didn’t inform anyone with the power of executive magistrate prior to the firing. It is obvious now that the police firing was without consulting the authorities.
Kaul said he came to know that there was a law and order problem at Beemapally-Cheriyathura region from a mediaperson who rang him up to know the details of the situation. Since he had no information on the issue, Kaul immediately reached the area and found that a tense situation prevailed there.
The place was crowded with agitated people of both communities on either sides of the road, separated by police personnel in the middle.
The next day, when firing took place, the police failed to inform him again. It was V Surendran Pillai MLA, who informed the District Collector of the incident just minutes after it took place. The MLA’s call was followed by a call from the City Police Commissioner’s office. The Commissioner didn’t even mention about the firing and requested the presence of an Executive Magistrate in the Beemapally region.
The witness examination of Sanjay Kaul will continue on Wednesday. The Inquiry Commission has already examined around 300 witnesses, including the relatives of victims, residents of Beemapally and Cheriyathura and the leaders of various communities. The Commission had also visited the riot-stricken area a few weeks ago.