Madurai: The encounter of a prime suspect in the constable killing case in Chennai evoked wile celebrations among many police personnel with many of them posting a series of messages and photos in social media.
Strongly condemning the celebration by the police, human rights defender Henri Tiphagne of People's Watch said the police are disciplined force and disciplinary action should be taken against those identifying themselves as police and indulging in celebrating encounters.
Police beat a protestor demanding closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper unit in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, May 23. One person was killed during the clash, after police’s open fire killed at least 10 people on May 22, and injured
Thoothukudi continues to be in the grip of fear as a young man was killed in a fresh round of firing by the police on Wednesday, May 23. Visuals of cops dragging his body became viral on social media
A shocking clip of a policeman in plain-clothes standing atop a police van — aiming at the protestors at the distance — has gone viral on social media with human rights activists alleging that the police made targetted strikes to kill protestors in cold blood. However, what makes the video truly chilling is the audio in the video where a policeman can be heard asking the shooter to "kill at least one person."
Henri Tiphagne of People’s Watch, an NGO, has demanded a joint suo moto enquiry by the NHRC and the SHRC on the entire duration of the Sterlite protest and the brutal use of police force at the protest.
He also demanded compensation of `20 lakh for each of the families of the victims.
Activists allege that three rounds of firing at different places by the police were only an attempt to “dilute the protests”. “There was an even bigger protest on March 24 in Tuticorin against Sterlite. But it was peaceful,” says Henry Tiphagne, the executive director of People’s Watch; he was present on the spot. “It is unfortunate that the state has failed to gauge the public mood. The people were angry but not violent. Certainly they were not angry against the government.”
Human rights activist and executive director of People’s Watch Henry Tiphagne, who was also in Tuticorin on Tuesday, told TOI that there was total violation of human rights in the police firing. He alleged that the people who shot at people were not in police uniform and that no formal procedure was followed before the firing.
People’s Watch calls for the order of immediate closure of Sterlite Copper Smelter
Plant No. 1 and for the stoppage of construction at the Copper Smelter Plant No.2, by
the Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy. People’s Watch would like to highlight that
the Chief Minister’s inaction during the 100 day protest and his gross negligence
during the Tuticorin Sterlite Protest has resulted in the loss of over a dozen lives, left
several brutally injured and has caused extensive damage to property.
Condemning the decision to amend the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, members of various Dalit outfits and organisations staged a demonstration here on Tuesday.
Led by P.P. Palanisamy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, members said that the Supreme Court had laid down stringent norms before registering a case under the SC/ST Act that was in place from 1989. They wanted both the Central government and the Supreme Court to annex the Act to the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.
