COIMBATORE: Tension prevailed in Kembanur, on the outskirts of Coimbatore, on Sunday after several people who were rescued and housed in a shelter in the village by anti-human trafficking unit of police recently on the grounds that they are destitute and have mental health issues, staged a protest stating that they are fit and are being held captive against and harassed.
A section of villagers too staged a protest in front of the shelter opposing the police decision and said the inmates were a threat to their safety.
The protesters damaged a van belonging to an NGO that runs the shelter. As the situation escalated, senior officials rushed to the spot.
District Collector GS Sameeran inspected the shelter and ordered an inquiry into allegations of human rights violations.
A few persons were released and some members of the NGO were detained by police for questioning.
Recently, the anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU), along with an NGO, rescued homeless destitute, beggars, and the mentally ill from the roadside.
Police claimed more than 100 people were rescued in the drive.
The people claimed they have families and worked as daily wage labourers. Police picked them up when they were roaming the streets alone, they alleged.
“Two days ago, I was walking in Gandhipuram around 11 am, when police personnel asked me to get into a bus. Like me, more than 100 people were brought to the shelter. The NGO members tonsured us forcibly, offered food and clothes. When we refused and questioned them, they beat us up,” said Natarajan.
Another person said he was working in a printing press in Gandhipuram.
“I explained my situation, but they beat me up and punched me in the mouth. They did not explain what purpose we are brought here,” he said.
“We live on platforms near CMCH. If there is no work, we get food from volunteers. Hundreds of people are here. How can police hand us over to some NGO and allow us to be harassed. We were not able to question them until the villagers raised the issue,” said a construction worker from Dharmapuri.
According to sources, 131 people were housed in the shelter that had not been maintained for more than two years. After the protest, police released a few people who claimed they had families and shifted the rest to another place. Fifteen persons working for the NGO were detained for investigation.
Commissioner of Police V Balakrishnan told TNIE that the drive was meant to give shelter to homeless people.
He said action would be initiated if complaints of harassment are found true.
Superintendent of Police V Badrinarayanan, under whose jurisdiction the place falls, said the NGO would be investigated for rights violations and harassment.
District Collector GS Sameeran said a committee would be set up to inquire into the issue.
“The shelter does not have licence to operate and 131 people were housed there. Around five persons claimed they are not destitute. They were sent to their houses. Others will be shifted to government homes. They will be assessed for mental health and will be taken care of separately. The harassment and assault on the inmates are serious allegations and police are filing FIR against those involved, ” he told TNIE.
Activists condemned police action of picking up people who were sleeping or walking on the streets without giving proper reason. “It is tantamount to unlawful detention. Even if they are found mentally ill, police should handle them in an appropriate way through the district mental health authority,” said Vaishnavi Jayakumar member of the Disability Rights Alliance.
She added, “For some people, the streets are home. If the intention is to help someone in poverty or ill health, any intervention should be on a case-to-case basis, not a drive, sweep or as the police themselves tweeted a raid.”
She added such blanket drives are traumatic, disrespectful, and illegal. She recalled a Madras High Court order in 2008 after a similar incident in Kanniyakumari.
“Every person wandering on streets is not mentally ill. Police should not round up people as if they were stray cattle and deal with them as such. Each individual should be dealt with as a separate case and they shall be treated as human beings with all constitutional rights. This will be possible if the police/NGO or any other people bring up each case individually as and when it arises,” she pointed out.
‘Shelter does not have license’
District Collector GS Sameeran said a committee would be set up to inquire into the issue.
“The shelter does not have licence and 131 people were housed there. Around five persons claimed they are not destitute. They were sent to their houses. Others will be shifted to government homes. The harassment and assault on the inmates are serious allegations and police are filing FIR against those involved, ” he told TNIE