TIRUVANNAMALAI: The state government on Thursday invoked Goondas Act against seven of the 20 farmers arrested on November 4 for staging protest against Melma SIPCOT project in Tiruvannamalai district.
Out of the 20 farmers, 15 are in Vellore central prison and the remaining are in various other prisons. The seven farmers facing charges under Goondas Act are M Thirumal (30), K Pachaiyappan (47), M Devan (45), B Bhagyaraj (38), C Masilamani (45), N Sozhan (30) and A Arul (45).
An official statement from Tiruvannamalai Collector B Murugesh, issued under section 2(1) of the Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982, alleged their involvement in activities ‘prejudicial to public order and equality,’ and also provided details on grounds of detention.
Condemning the development, M Povizhi Keerthana, wife of detained agriculture activist Arul, said, “During the AIADMK regime in 2018, farmers who opposed the eight-lane project were arrested during midnight at Attapadi and verbally abused for staging protest. What is happening now proves there is no difference between the DMK and the AIADMK. Invoking Goondas Act against my husband is nothing but an attempt by the government to intimidate him.”
Wife of another farmer facing Goondas Act told TNIE, “On Thursday afternoon, officials from the collectorate visited my house and asked me to sign a document saying it was a bail application for my husband. Trusting them, I signed it only to receive a notice later saying Goondas Act had been invoked against him.”
The woman claimed when she sought clarification, officials verbally abused and threatened her against staying in the village. The farmers were engaged in a peaceful sit-in protest on their land for over 125 days, opposing the government’s proposed acquisition of approximately 3,200 acres of agricultural wetlands for leasing to SIPCOT and other private industries. The farmers were arrested from their house around 2 am on November 4, based on an FIR filed in August.
TNIE’s attempts to reach out to Murugesan and SP K Karthikeyan for their comments on invoking Goondas Act yielded no response. Their personal assistant said the officials were busy with arrangements for ‘Karthikeya Deepam’ scheduled for November 26.