The three officers in the rank of deputy tahsildars, who allegedly issued the shooting orders to quell rioters during the protest rally against Sterlite Copper in Thoothukudi on May 22, were impleaded in a case by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday.
Concerned over the current situation in Thoothukudi, the High Court Bench on Wednesday allowed an impleading petition seeking a probe by a special investigation team into the recent Thoothukudi firing.
A Division Bench of Justices C.T. Selvam and A.M. Basheer Ahamed, hearing the plea, directed issue of notice to the deputy tahsildars and adjourned the case for further hearing. The court said though the Principal Seat was seized of the matter, the petition was being allowed as the court was concerned over the entire incident.
The petitioner, N. Muthu Amuthanathan of the All India Lawyers’ Union, in his public interest litigation petition, said that the forum had formed a fact-finding committee to look into police firing incident which left 13 people dead. Instead of addressing the people, the police gunned down the agitators without following the mandatory provisions under the CrPC or the Police Standing Order.
Besides firing indiscriminately, the police had also illegally detained people, he said.
Against this backdrop, the fact-finding team had visited the Thoothukudi Government Medical College and Hospital to ascertain the total number of injured and the severity of the injury sustained by them.
The higher officials should reveal who ordered the shooting instead pointing fingers at three officers in the rank of deputy tahsildars, the petitioner said. With the Thoothukudi Collectorate under CCTV Surveillance, the truth could be detected, he added.