COIMBATORE: A five-member fact finding mission led by A Marx, state president, Peoples Union for Human Rights (PUHR), visited Angammal Colony near Salem on Thursday to investigate allegations that supporters of senior DMK leader and former minister Veerapandi Arumugam had assaulted its residents and set a few huts on fire. Arumugam and 18 others were arrested and the former is in Vellore jail in connection with the incident that took place on June 3, birthday of DMK chief M Karunanidhi.
The team, in Salem to trace the sequence of events and probe the extent of rights violations, spent a few hours in the colony talking to residents. “We met the victims in Angammal Colony and have recorded their statements. We have also discussed the matter with the Salem police commissioner and other legal representatives of the victims,’ Marx told TOI.
“They (the miscreants) barged into our hut a few minutes after midnight and wreaked havoc and set it on fire. One of them caught my eight-year-old daughter and dragged her around. I was held at knife point and abuses showered on us,” Sakunthala Venkatesan, one of the occupants of the colony, told the team members. “All of them had their faces covered and were armed with cricket bat, stumps, sickles and bottles. They appeared drunk. They terrorised the people,” added G Gunaseelan, relative of K Venkatesan, whose hut was allegedly set on fire by the gang.
The fact-finding team could meet only the complainants as they claimed the legal representatives and supporters of the accused minister refused to meet them. However, Veerapandi Arumugam’s legal counsel, R Srinivasan, said he had told the team members when they contacted him in the morning that he’ll be available in the evening. “But they didn’t turn up,” Srinivasan claimed. He also refuted the charges levelled against the former minister and his aides.
The fact-finding team comprising K Sukumaran, secretary of Federation of People’s Rights from Pondicherry, A Anand, a documentary maker, Sankar and M Senthil besides Marx, also met Salem police commissioner K C Mahali and recorded his version about the incident. Later, Mahali told TOI that 19 people including Arumugam have been arrested in connection with the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. His close relatives and legal aid are also booked in the case. “We have also initiated action against police personnel from the nearby Pallapatti police station since they failed to respond quickly and prevent the incident. Inspector of the station, V Anandhan, has been transferred and a sub inspector, s sub inspector and a constable have been placed under suspension,” Mahali added.
Angammal Colony case, which has acquired a political hue after the arrest of Arumugam, has been simmering since 23 families, who were allegedly evicted from 20,000 square feet of land in the colony at the behest of Arumugam in 2008, returned after DMK lost office last year and a slew of cases including land grab were slapped on the party strongman.
The Times of India / 08.06.2012
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