TIRUCHY: She was lodged in Tiruchy Central Prison for extending support to Neduvasal villagers, who were protesting against the hydrocarbon extraction plan in the Delta region. But the ordeal she went through in prison, after being arrested at Kulithalai Railway Station in Karur along with six other students while on their way to Neduvasal on April 15, was shocking, if one took note of the complaint lodged with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) by human rights organisation People’s Watch.
Sources said Valarmathi (23), a student of Periyar University in Salem, spent over a month in judicial custody at the women’s prison, before being granted bail recently. After coming out of jail, she alleged that prison authorities had harassed her by strip-searching her at least six times and did not even provide her with sanitary napkins.
In his complaint on Thursday, Henry Tiphagne of People’s Watch said, “Any woman in judicial custody has to be treated with dignity. In addition, sanitary napkins must be supplied without fail. Failure to do so is an act of negligence by prison officials and the Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) of Tamil Nadu. It is shameful an university student has been ill-treated by women officers of the prison. ADGP (Prisons) Vijayakumar has to take responsibility and should be held criminally negligent for this human rights violation.” He requested the NHRC to conduct a detailed inquiry by recording the statement of the student in question before any executive or judicial authority and not by any police or prison official so that details would be revealed.
On April 15, Valarmathi, Dinesh (25), Deepak (22), Dinesh Kumar (19), Karthik (19), Suryavarman (24) and Swathi, all students from colleges in Coimbatore and Salem, were picked up by police at the Kulithalai Railway Station, while they onboard the Tiruchy-Palakkad Fast Passenger. The move came after the police received a tip-off that a group was allegedly campaigning against the hydrocarbon project at railway stations and were also distributing pamphlets. Sources said the students were members of Students Federation of India.
All seven students were booked under sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot) and 505(1)(b) (with an intent to cause fear or alarm to the public) of the Indian Penal Code and under sections of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
The two girls were lodged in Special Prison for Women here, while three male students were housed in the Central Prison.
Two 19-year-old students were sent to the Ariyalur Prison for Minors.