'Ex-CM Palanisami failed to control situation,' claims Thoothukudi police firing report

The political leadership led by then Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami failed to defuse the situation in Thoothukudi before it went out of control on May 22, 2018, the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission reported. The situation was not given due importance, despite suggestions to allay people’s apprehension on various issues and specific intelligence about violence during the anti-Sterlite protests.

The Commission also noted that the then Inspector General (Intelligence) K N Sathyamurthy had submitted a detailed report to Deputy General of Police P T K Rajendran with specific input that fishermen in Thoothukudi were not venturing into the sea due to a ban, and that they might participate in large numbers in the 100th-day protests against Sterlite Copper on May 22.

Rajendran, according to his deposition before the Commission which presented its findings in four volumes, deputed Sathyamurthy to travel to Salem to brief Palaniswami. In his briefing he suggested that a dialogue be opened with the fishermen associations through the Secretary of the Fisheries Department to “dissuade” them from taking part in the protests.

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“The then CM would appear to have responded saying that he would do the needful. Unfortunately, the well-meaning efforts of the Intelligence Chief did not yield any result in as much as no follow up action was taken immediately thereafter to defuse the situation,” Justice Jagadeesan wrote in her report.

The comment by the retired judge is a damning indictment of Palaniswami, who is still criticised for his remarks that he knew about the firing incident only through news updates on television channels.

As many as 13 civilians were killed in the police firing at Thoothukudi Collectorate, and elsewhere in the town, on May 22, 2018, as the 100-day protest against expansion of Sterlite Copper, owned by Vedanta, turned violent. Following the violence, the copper smelter was closed.

Intelligence input ‘remained unattended’

Jagadeesan added it was “quite baffling” to note how such an important message that had the potential to unravel into a “grave law and order situation” remained unattended, and laid the blame on Palaniswami. “It would appear to be a classic instance of indifference and lethargy, and had this grave issue been seriously attended to, it is quite likely that the issue would have been tackled effectively at the initial stage itself,” Justice Jagadeesan remarked.

The report talked about “absolute lack of coordination” between the district administration and the police in the days leading up to the showdown on May 22, 2018, that culminated in 13 civilians losing their lives in police firing. It also suggested that there was no chain of command on the day of police firing, with senior police officers “missing” one after the other from the spot as crowds swelled.

The police firing and violence could have been avoided, according to the panel, if the district collector N Venkatesh had heeded the police advice by imposing prohibitory orders throughout the district, instead of just a few police station limits in Thoothukudi city.

This led to people marching in areas where there was no restriction in place and reaching the district Collectorate, where the shooting took place.

No attempt to allay people’s fears

Relying on various evidence, the report also stated there was no warning by the police to the protesters before firing at them. While condemning the violence at the Sterlite employees’ quarters, the Commission suggested that the protesters indulged in violence and arson after the police firing.

Justice Jagadeesan says the Thoothukudi district administration and police sensed that the anti-Sterlite protests were gaining momentum as early as April and communicated their suggestions to top officials in Chennai. However, none of the suggestions including constitution of a high-level committee with oncologists on board to allay people’s apprehensions on health issues regarding Sterlite’s expansion plans were heeded to.

The then Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police P Mahendran wrote to District Collector N Venkatesh, IG (South Zone) Shailesh Kumar Yadav, and DIG (Tirunelveli) Kapil Kumar on April 10 suggesting that a committee should be constituted to talk to people. While Venkatesh didn’t respond, he sent WhatsApp messages to Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan regarding the same.

District admin ignored police inputs

“The Chief Secretary assured to take it up with the Chief Minister for necessary action,” the report says, adding that the assurance didn’t fructify into any action. In the report, Justice Jagadeesan, notes more than once, that the DG and IG (Intelligence) were sharing the inputs that they received with the district administration from time and time, but suggests that these inputs were neither processed nor taken seriously by the district administration.

The Commission, which carried out the inquiry for four years, castigated the district collector for not participating in the Peace Committee Meeting on May 20 and deputing his “third-in-command”, sub-collector M S Prasanth, to preside over it.

The collector also came under heavy criticism for not inviting outfits like Makkal Adhigaram and DYFI for the peace talks, despite inputs suggesting that they were at the forefront of mobilizing people.

Unprovoked firing without warning

There was “no detailed ‘bandobust’ scheme” and the incidents at the collectorate were “man-made” as police indulged in unprovoked fire inside and outside the Collector’s office, the Commission said. It also noted that Mahendran and Tirunelveli SP Arun Sakthi Kumar left the FCI Roundtana at around 11.15 pm, after the crowd swelled, and were unreachable for the next two hours.

The Commission also said the district collector ought to have convened another peace talks after the one held on May 20 ended in a failure, with opinions of different sides contradicting the other. The retired justice also accused Mahendran and Kumar of leaving the IG and DIG, who were neither fluent in Tamil, nor aware of the topography of the area.

Sterlite Copper, which began operations in Thoothukudi in 1996, was shut on May 28, 2018, by the Tamil Nadu government on charges of polluting areas around the plant based on advice from pollution watchdog, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

The government’s action came a week after the anti-Sterlite protests on May 22 turned violent resulting in the death of 13 civilians in police firing. Since then, Sterlite Copper has not been able to reopen its sprawling facility—the oxygen plant inside the complex was operated for a couple of months to meet the needs of patients suffering from Covid-19 second wave in 2021.