TIRUVANNAMALAI: The arrest and detention of 20 farmers from Tiruvannamalai for over 10 days for protesting against the proposed acquisition of agricultural wetlands for the MELMA SIPCOT project has drawn widespread condemnation. Opposing the detention, social activist Aruna Roy in a statement on Tuesday urged the authorities to immediately release the farmers and drop all charges against them.
The release said, “The farmers were engaged in a peaceful sit-in protest on their patta land for over 125 days, opposing the government’s plan to acquire 3,200 acres of agricultural wetlands for leasing to private industries. Police arrested them from their houses in the early hours of November 4 based on an FIR filed in August. The report, among various charges, also blamed them for unlawful assembly, carrying a maximum punishment of five years. Five of these farmers have been transferred to various jails across Tamil Nadu, which is a form of harassment. The farmers also face a second FIR filed in July, which might prolong their incarceration. We urge the government to drop all the charges, release the farmers and stop all forceful methods of land acquisition.”
Those who signed the statement include V Suresh, advocate at Madras High Court and member of PUCL; Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of Arappor Iyakkam; Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh from MKSS; and Sudha Ramalingam, human rights activist.
Sources said there is a possibility of invoking the Goondas Act against five protesters, including agriculture activist Arul Arumugam, who was arrested. TNIE tried to reach out to Tiruvannamalai collector B Murugeshan to clarify on this apprehension, but he could not be reached.