CHENNAI: The Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry has hit out at former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for failing to act on intelligence inputs to defuse the protest in Thoothukudi against the Sterlite copper smelter plant that resulted in the killing of 13 people.
The commission said Inspector General of Intelligence KN Satyamurthy met the then chief minister at Salem and impressed upon him the need to hold talks with fishermen, who were not venturing into the sea due to the fishing ban, and urge them not to join the protest prompted by Leftist organisations.
“He deposed that he met the chief minister in Salem and suggested to him that a dialogue could be opened with the fishermen associations through the fisheries department secretary to dissuade them from plunging into the protest. According to the report by the commission, the chief minister had given the inspector general of intelligence to understand that the needful would be done,” the report stated.
However, no action was taken immediately to defuse the situation, it added, and said, “It is quite baffling to note how a message with a potential for grave law and order situation remained unattended.” The commission further called it a “classic instance of indifference and lethargy”.
The commission also hit out at the bureaucracy, saying the then Thoothukudi collector N Venkatesh deposed that he sent WhatsApp messages to the then chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan suggesting the formation of a committee comprising a medical-college dean, the joint and deputy director of health services, and two oncologists, to examine the pollution caused by Sterlite’s smelter.
The report says the collector stated that he also suggested the formation of yet another committee comprising environmental engineers of TNPCB, and experts from Anna University and IIT, to supplement the efforts of the other committee.
“The collector states that he has again sent WhatsApp messages on March 31, 2018 and on various dates bringing to the knowledge of the then chief secretary the closure of Sterlite factory on April 10, 2018 for maintenance purpose. He had informed that inhabitants of Pandrampatti, Sankaraperi, Theerku Veerapandiyapuram, Meelavittan and Madathur were indulging in protest without permission and that cases were being registered but without any arrest in order to avoid unpleasant developments,” the report stated.
“The chief secretary, according to district collector Venkatesh, assured him that she would take it up with the chief minister for necessary action. As could be seen that the assurance would not appear to have fructified into concrete action and it remained only as an assurance for all times to come,” the report added.
However, the commission castigated the collector for being complacent and for dearth of responsibility. It said he should have issued an official letter informing the chief secretary and public secretary of the volatile situation and asked for immediate intervention, but only WhatsApp messages were sent.
‘Cop shooting from vehicle killed none’
The commission recommended action against head constable A Raja for correcting the armoury register and opening fire while not in uniform. Raja, a police cook, was photographed atop a vehicle pointing a rifle at protesters. He fired two rounds but did not cause any loss of life, the report said