It has been a turbulent 100 days at the home of 17-year-old J. Snowlin, killed in police firing during the anti-Sterlite riots in Thoothukudi. Her father, Jackson, a fisherman, sits on the floor of the Lionstown house, unable to summon the will to set out to sea.
Over a month ago, he suffered severe chest pain and fell unconscious while at sea. “It’s the memory of his daughter that was weighing heavy on him,” says his wife, Vanitha. “Doctors say he is lucky to have survived, as it could have progressed into a heart attack,” she adds. He has not ventured out to sea since then.
Mr. Jackson gave up drinking soon after his daughter’s death. “In a diary entry, Snowlin had written that drinking is the one thing that she hates most about him,” says Ms. Vanitha. The parents hadn’t seen the diary until after her death; it has now become a cherished article that they hold on to for dear life.
While families of some the 13 people killed and injured in the anti-Sterlite agitation that reached a boiling point on May 22 are moving on with life, others clearly aren’t. The protests and the subsequent firing have even touched the lives of those not immediately impacted by the actual violence; it has impacted the lives of many in the local community, and the people largely dependent on Sterlite for survival find themselves adrift.
Hard times: G. Princeton, 22, is still waiting for a prosthetic limb after his right leg wasamputated following a bullet injury.
G. Princeton, a 22-year-old engineering diploma holder who was working as a process operator in a private company, lost his right leg after a bullet pierced it. He waits at the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital for a prosthetic leg to arrive. The one that was offered to him was not even water resistant.
Even though he’s entitled to one, he says his family has had a hard time dealing with officials. “When my parents went to submit a petition at the Collectorate, a senior official there asked my mother if I fought in the freedom struggle and lost my leg. He asked why I couldn’t make do with the leg I was initially offered,” Mr. Princeton says.
S. Vijaya Kumar, who was also injured in the police firing and first went to a private hospital in Madurai, is awaiting a bone graft surgery on his right femur. He is unsure whether his earlier medical expenses will be reimbursed. “We spent close to one lakh rupees for my treatment,” he says. He has been lying on his bed for a while now, with a rod jutting out of his thigh holding the bone together. The doctors say that it will take several months for a full recovery. He’s had a tough time getting doctors to come home for consultations, as he couldn’t make frequent hospital visits.
The future is very much a question mark. Some families have lost their earning members, others have been temporarily or permanently disabled. The injured are still waiting for the government jobs promised to them. The district administration had made recommendations to the government based on their qualifications. Collector Sandeep Nanduri insist that the jobs will come, as promised.
Courts go the extra mile
“How brazen and insensitive can the State be,” the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court said recently, while rapping the State over registering multiple FIRs in connection with the anti-Sterlite protests, and called it a “clear violation of the statutory powers by the State”. A CBI investigation into the protests was later ordered by the court.
Advocates S. Vanchinathan and G. Hari Raghavan, who played a key role in the protests, were denied anticipatory bail. While hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by the spouse of an advocate, the court pulled up the Thoothukudi Collector, asking him to appear before it to answer why the National Security Act (NSA) was imposed on Mr. Raghavan after bail was granted. Later, the NSA was quashed.
Over the past few months, there have many instances of curbs on free speech — internet shutdowns, police permission not being granted for condolence meetings and other gatherings.
A direction was also passed by the district police to printing presses asking their customers to seek prior permission from the police before making hoardings and other promotional materials.
A view of the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi. File
Soon after the riots, after complaints of police excesses and harassment surfaced, advocates went the extra mile to secure the rights of protestors. A resolution was passed by the advocates to the effect that they would work free of cost for securing bail for protestors, as complaints of illegal detention surfaced.
Based on a complaint filed by the advocates on May 23 alleging a “hue and cry” at the South Police Station, Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Bagavathi Ammal conducted a surprise visit to the police station. In a report filed on the visit, the CJM mentioned that 68 persons were found in the police station, many of them in their underwear. Many had injuries on their bodies, and some were not even able to walk.
On the CJM’s directions, Vilathikulam Judicial Magistrate Kalimuthuvel inspected the police shooting range at Vallanadu where he found 95 people illegally detained. Soon after the visit, the police were forced to register FIRs, and many of the detainees were let off.
The District Legal Services Authority held legal assistance camps at the Perurani jail premises. Help desks were put up at the entrance of the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital and at the DLSA office, and in a short time, a large number of applications were received.
Many people complained of a large number of mobile phones, documents like Aadhaar card and two-wheelers being confiscated by the police.
At the time, only vacation hearings were available on Wednesdays. However, after 50 advocates filed a petition before the High Court, seeking special leave for hearing remand petitions, the then District Sessions Judge Charuhasini, who retired shortly after the riots, rose to the occasion. She worked as late as 12.30-1 a.m. to hear petitions, and granted bail to many of the protestors.
“They were given unconditional bail with open bonds,” says E. Adhisaya Kumar, a senior advocate. The Bar even provided medical aid and food for people.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court later dismissed a plea filed by the State to quash the bail granted by the lower court, as it failed to provide material facts against 65 protesters. The Bench said unless there was clinching evidence against the protesters, the court could not interfere with the lower court’s order.
(With inputs from B. Tilak Chandar in Madurai)
