THOOTHUKUDI: The Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission has recommended criminal and legal action specifically against two police personnel, one of them a sub-inspector, for high handedness, misdemeanours, and manner of handling weapons.
“Sub Inspector Rennes, who was part of the SP’s special team, opened fire even as he was running to the collectorate campus. When bullets got exhausted, he demanded more from the PSO of the then Tirunelveli DIG Kapil Kumar C Saratkar, and also from the DIG himself in a disobedient manner. He claimed to have fired six rounds of bullets,” the commission’s report said.
Though Rennes claimed that he opened fire after orders from inspector Thirumalai, the police department had, in a memo served to him, said no higher-up had ordered him to shoot. Likewise, the commission said police constable Sudalaikannu of Tirunelveli Armed Reserve was responsible for gunning down Manirajan, Shanmugam, Antony Selvaraj and Jansi Rani.
The report said, using a 0.303 mm rifle, allegedly on the DIG’s instructions, Sudalaikannu opened fire inside and outside the collectorate killing four protesters. He got on the then Thoothukudi SP Mahendran’s vehicle and opened fire at Third mile and Trespuram “to quell the mob”, using a Self Loading Rifle (SLR) that was loaded with 30 rounds of bullets.
“Sudalaikannu fired 17 rounds at Third mile and three rounds at Trespuram, killing three protesters including Jansi Rani of Trespuram. He also erased the armoury register and overwrote it,” the report said.