THOOTHUKUDI: Anti-Sterlite activists met district collector Dr K Senthil Raj on Thursday to know about the status of action initiated against the policemen and revenue officials indicted in the Aruna Jegadeesan committee report. While the Superintendent of Police denied taking any action against the policemen, the collector said a show cause notice has been issued against the tahsildars who allegedly gave firing orders as per a communication from George Fort.
The team of activists, led by professor Fatima Babu, advocate Hari Ragavan and Krishnamurthy expressed disappointment that no action has been taken against those who were responsible for the gunning down of 13 civilians and injuring about 100 civilians, as established by the one-man commission. "There has been a hype in the media regarding legal action after Chief Minister MK Stalin promised in the assembly when the report was tabled on October 18. However, we are disappointed to note that no action has been taken yet," said Hari Ragavan.
The activists had also appealed to the collector to withdraw the pending cases against anti-Sterlite protestors and remove them from the list of history sheeters. Krishnamurthy said the collector told them that the state government had formed a committee to initiate actions against those who were found guilty. "The collector has asked the anti-Sterlite activists to not be provoked by the activities of those demanding to reopen the copper smelter as the state government is firm on its decision," he added.