Actor Suriya to donate Rs 10 lakh to Jai Bhim’s real-life protagonist

Parvati Ammal, on whose struggle to get justice for her husband Rajakannu killed in police custody formed the basis for the latest blockbuster Jai Bhim, will receive help from actor Suriya, the hero of the movie.

In a statement, Suriya said he will open a fixed deposit of Rs 10 lakh in the name of Parvati Ammal. “The interest accrued for the FD will be handed over to Parvati Ammal every month. It will be ensured that the amount goes to her children after her death,” Suriya said.

The actor had earlier donated Rs 1 crore for the betterment of irulas (primarily snake catchers).

It is the legal battle that Parvati Ammal through Justice (retired) K Chandru, then a lawyer, that served as a canvas for Jai Bhim which has brought much-needed focus on various tribes living in the country.

As a senior advocate of the Madras High Court, Chandru had in 1993 taken up a pro bono case relating to the custodial death of Rajakannu, who belonged to the Kurava community but was shown as Irulas (primarily snake catchers) in the film, at the instance of his wife Parvati who met him at a protest event in Neyveli.

The habeas corpus filed by Chandru — who never took any money from litigants for fighting such cases — led to the delivery of justice to Parvati after the court concluded that the tribal man was indeed killed in the police custody and sent the accused policemen to 14 years in jail.

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