Congress activists Tuesday evening staged a demonstration to condemn police action against the retrenched workers in Puducherry and said that they will move the court and file a private suit against the police.
Police resorted to lathi-charge after the retrenched employees barged into the PWD office at Bussy Street demanding their re-instatement. Four persons, including a police inspector, were injured in the melee.
Led by Opposition leader V Vaithilingam and Pradesh Congress Committee president A V Subramanian, the activists shouted slogans against Rangasamy government and urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to intervene and dismiss the government that is functioning against the interest of the people.
They demanded a judicial probe into the police action and wanted the false cases filed against them be to withdrawn. They charged that the government had removed the workers with the connivance of a few officials citing financial crunch.
Later, addressing the reporters, Vaithilingam and Subramanian said that Congress will approach the National Human Rights Commission and file a complaint against the police for taking a worker to the police station and beating him up. The PCC chief said Chandran, one of the retrenched employees, was beaten black and blue during the agitation and after his arrest.
They revealed that Congress will also file a private suit in the Court against the police, who misused their powers and violated the human rights. The Congress will also seek the details through the Right to Information Act of the workers employed by the ruling government overlooking the employment exchange, they said.
The legal cell of the party, which met at the Congress office, resolved that all the advocates of the cell will appear for the 186 arrested workers, who were remanded in judicial custody. Their bail application will come up for hearing on Wednesday.