The Tamil Nadu government has informed the Madras High Court that departmental action has been initiated against only eleven police personnel out of 17 police personnel indicted by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission report. While four low-ranking police personnel have been suspended, the status report does not mention what action has been initiated against the IPS officers.
The government in its status report submitted on November 17, has confirmed that only an explanation has been sought from six police personnel, including three top-ranking IPS officers, who were held responsible by the judicial probe. The status report also says the matter is being examined by Tamil Nadu DGP Shankar Jiwal.
Meanwhile, a letter from Director General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal to the additional secretary of the state government (Law and Order), dated November 11, says that the government has not given any orders to initiate criminal action. “No FIR has been registered against the police officer/police personnel named in the report of the inquiry commission headed by retired Justice Aruna Jagadeesan as the [state] government has not issued any orders for initiating criminal action against them,” the letter says.
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The government also informed the court that disciplinary action has been initiated and charges framed under the All India Services Rules against IAS officer N Venkatesh, who was the district collector of Thoothukudi in 2018 when the horrific police firing at the anti-Sterlite protesters, which killed 13 people and injured more than a hundred others, took place.
The Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission had come down heavily on the then Thoothukudi district collector for the lapses and accused him of abdicating his responsibility. The Commission also criticised him for total inaction, lethargy, complacency and dereliction of duty. The status report further reveals that N Venkatesh denied any lapses on his part. The government also stated that another IAS officer, Dheeraj Kumar, has been appointed as an inquiry officer into the disciplinary action initiated against N Venkatesh.
Read: Aruna Jagadeesan Commission holds 17 cops responsible for Thoothukudi firing
In the case of IPS officers, including the then Inspector General of Police, South Zone Shailesh Kumar Yadav (now ADGP), then DIG, Tirunelveli range, Kapil Kumar Saratkar and former Thoothukudi SP Mahendran, an explanation was sought on October 17, 2022, a day before Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission report was tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Letters seeking explanations were also sent to DSP Lingathirumaran, Police Inspector Hariharan and Parthiban.
The status report further says that the IPS officers and other police personnel submitted their replies between November 2022 and May 2023. The government did not divulge any details regarding the explanations offered by the top-ranking officers.
Four police personnel who have been suspended are ADSP Thirumalai, sharpshooter Sudulaikannu, Shankar, who was the gunman of the then DIG Kapil Kumar Saratkar and Satheesh Kumar. According to the report, departmental action has been initiated against seven police personnel under section 3(b) of the Tamil Nadu Police Subordinate Service (Discipline and Appeal) rules of 1955, but no mention has been made about the nature of the action taken.
Apart from police personnel, the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) had also recommended departmental action against the Revenue Department officials and accordingly departmental action has been initiated against the officials under the Tamil Nadu Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules and charge memos were served to the officials. The action against them is pending as the Commissioner of Revenue Administration is yet to issue ‘suitable instructions’ to the District Collector of Thoothukudi for finalising the disciplinary action against them.
A massacre and a damning inquiry report
The firing, which has come to be known as the ‘Thoothukudi massacre’, occurred on the hundredth day of protests against the Sterlite copper smelting plant owned by Vedanta. On May 22, protestors had been on a peaceful rally marching towards the district collector’s office when police opened fire on the crowds, killing 13 protesters, including 17-year-old Snowlin, who was shot in the head. More than a hundred others sustained injuries that continue to impede their lives nearly six years after the incident.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which was the opposition party at the time, came to power promising justice to the victims of the firing. However, even two years later, justice continues to evade them. In August 2022, the report by the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan commission was leaked by The Frontline magazine. The report was a damning indictment of 17 police personnel against whom the report said criminal action must be taken. The report was submitted to the state government in May 2022 but was not officially made public until October 2022.
The report named Inspector General Shailesh Kumar Yadav, Deputy Inspector General Kapil Kumar C, Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police P Mahendran, Deputy Superintendent of Police Lingathirumaran, Inspectors Thirumalai, Hariharan, Parthiban, Sub-Inspectors Sornamani, Rennes, Constables Raja, Shankar, Sudalaikannu, Thandavamurthy, Satheesh Kumar, A Raja, M Kannan and Mathivanan.
The Chennai police issued a notice in April 2023 to Illangovan Rajasekaran, the senior editor of Frontline, who broke the story on the commission’s findings.
The Hindu, the parent organisation of The Frontline, legally contested the claims made by the complainant that leaking the report amounts to a violation of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. It also remains unclear who the complainant—an advocate named Manikandan—is. When TNM visited the address provided on the police notice, it was discovered that Manikandan had vacated the premises five years ago after a dispute with his landlord. Police have also not been forthcoming about any other details concerning Manikandan, claiming the matter is confidential.
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