Retired Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry pulled up superstar Rajinikanth for making statements with "far reaching consequences" without any basis.
Picture from 14 May, 2021 when the Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry submitted its interim report to CM MK Stalin. The final report was submitted on 18 May, 2022. (Supplied)
Apart from naming top police officials and bureaucrats whose actions or inaction led to the “dastardly act” — the 2018 Tuticorin police firing case in which 14 people were shot dead by cops — the retired Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Committee of Inquiry in its final report has also called out the statements made by superstar Rajinikanth and former chief minister Edappadi K Palanisamy (EPS) in connection with the violence.
The contents of the final report was made public after it was tabled in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Tuesday,18 October, by the DMK government.
When the massive violence broke out in Tuticorin following protests against Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Smelting Plant over environmental and health concerns, Rajinikanth, who was dabbling with the idea of entering politics at the time, first reacted to it saying that it reflected a total failure of state machinery, including intelligence.
However, in another press briefing at the Chennai airport, the superstar blamed the bloodshed on “anti-social elements” who had allegedly infiltrated the anti-Sterlite protests. His comments and visit to Tuticorin to meet the families of the victim and those injured had gained a lot of traction during the time.
However, when the Commission of Inquiry — constituted by the previous AIADMK government to probe the matter — asked Rajinikanth about his comments of the involvement of “anti-social elements”, the superstar, in a written response, expressed in “unambiguous terms that he has no materials whatsoever to form the basis of his comment”, and “candidly stated that he is not possessed of any documents, supporting materials, media reports and daily newspaper reports”.
A picture from 22 May, 2018, when the anti-Sterlite protest turned violent. (Creative Commons)
Further, to a specific question as to whether he had viewed any video footage or CCTV recordings of the procession/incident before making his statement to the media, the Rajnikanth replied in a “circuitous manner”, suggesting that he did not have any material to back his comments.
This led to the inquiry panel pulling up Rajinikanth for his “baseless” remarks.
“A popular actor of the stature of Rajinikanth is not expected to act on the spur of the moment. When he makes a statement to which gullible public attach significance, he is to be sure of the source of information,” the final report of the committee read.
“He has made a statement of far-reaching consequences and he will do well to verify the correctness of the material on the basis of which such statements are made.”
The panel further went on to say: “Arbitrary, capricious and whimsical statements trotted out by celebrities have a tendency to mislead the public and would create more problems than they solve. The celebrities should act with restraint and with the sense of responsibility.
“The ipse-dixit of individuals have no place in the public domain and is to be scrupulously avoided, more so in the case of film celebrities and those in public life.”
Likewise, Justice Jagadeesan, through the committee’s probe, also fact-checked the statements made by EPS, who was the chief minister when the police opened fire on innocent protestors in Tuticorin.
Breaking his silence over the incident, EPS, who also held the home portfolio at the time, claimed that he got to know about the violence through media reports. He, too, blamed “anti-social elements” for the violence and rejected the allegations that the police firing was pre-planned.
Picture from 22 May, 2018 when violence broke out on the 100th day of Anti-Sterlite protest which resulted in police firing. (Supplied)
His statements drew widespread criticism from all quarters, with many questioning the lack of preparedness by the government, especially the district administration, to handle the 100th day of the protest and subsequent violence that broke out.
Importantly, according to the probe panel, the statement made by EPS — about him getting to know about the police firing and violence through media — was “incorrect” or “inaccurate”.
“It may be pointed out that there are materials available before the commission in the shape of evidence of the then Chief Secretary Girija Vadiyanathan IAS, the then Director General of Police (DGP) TK Rajendran IPS, the then IG Intelligence KN Sathiyamurthy have been updating the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy with minute to minute development which took place in Thoothukudi and as such to say that the then CM came to know of the shooting only through media would be incorrect or inaccurate,” the panel opined.
The 3,000-page report on one of Tamil Nadu’s worst human rights violations and police excesses was submitted to Chief Minister MK Stalin on 18 May.
The port town of Thoothukudi — formerly Tuticorin — witnessed unprecedented violence on 22 May, 2018, which was the 100th day of the anti-Sterlite protests. The police personnel were outnumbered by the protestors and the agitation ended up in violence and arson.
The police opened fire to “control the situation” and “in self-defence”, killing 13 protestors — including an 18-year-old Snowlin Jackson — on the spot. Another protestor succumbed to bullet injuries after a few days of hospitalisation.
Four years after that bloody episode, justice still eludes the families of the deceased protestors, with no serious action taken against any top official for the horrific incident. However, the report by the probe panel has now given them a glimmer of hope.
The 100th day of anti-Sterlite protest turned violent. Miscreants indulged in arson and vandalism. (Supplied)
The commission has named top police officials in the report, as they were found to have “certainly exceeded the limit”. They include the then Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Shailesh Kumar Yadav (now ADGP, Police Welfare); Deputy Inspector General of Police (Tirunelveli Range) Kapil Kumar C Saratkar (now an Additional Commissioner of Police, Chennai city); Superintendent of Police (Thoothukudi) P Mahendran (now Deputy Commissioner (Admn), Chennai); and Deputy SP (Thoothukudi) Lingathirumaran.
The report also named three inspectors, two sub-inspectors, a head constable, and seven constables.
It further singled out the then Thoothukudi district collector N Venkatesh, who is now with the National Fisheries Development Board in Hyderabad. His “abdication of responsibility, gross negligence, and ill-conceived decisions” was highlighted in the report.
The panel also found no evidence to corroborate the then government’s claim that the police opened fire as they could not control the crowd.
The commission’s report pointed out that those who took part in the rally on that fateful day were “unarmed and indulged only in stone-pelting”. There was no “imminent threat to the life and limb of the policemen”, it noted.
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