Fact Finding Team Report -2008

We came to know about police lathi charge on muslims and MNP members at Kadayanallur on February 28, 2008 through television and news papers. Information reached us from the victims themselves.

So we formed a fact finding team of delegates from different human rights organizations, are as follows

• Thiru Sugumaran, Confederation of Human Rights, Puduchery
• Advocate Haribabu, Center for protecting Civil Liberty
• Professor Kochadai, People's Union for Civil Liberty
• Professor Marx, People Union for Human Rights
• Thir Ilango, Periyar Dravidar Kalagam, Puduchery
• Advocate Kesavan,Center for protecting Civil Liberty
• Advocate Abbas, Vaigai Law Firm

This team went to Kadayanallur and met the victims Riyaz, Imam Abdul kader, Lukmanul Hakeem, Sheik oli, District President of MNP Mr. Mohammed Mubarak , Fazlul rahman( city president), Communist party of India leader Ayyub khan, Tamil National Liberation movement leader Pasumpon and got opinion from Puliangudi DSP Ashok kumar and Kadayanallur Inspector P.K.Ravi. Based on information collected from them, its result are as follows.

Five muslim youths (Haroon Basha, Malik Basha, Ravi @ Tippu Sultan, Polo Shankar @ Athiqur Rahman, Shamsudeen) were arrested on July 22,2006 undersection explosive substantial act widely published in the media according to the police report "plot to destroy coimbatore city ", created panic and fear pshycosis among the public.

In fact this is a false case, due to the prolonged effort and tireless work made by human rights activists and victims, the case has been transferred to CBCID. CBCID Additional Superintendent of Police Mr. BALAN submitted his report on October 15 on 2007.

Alleged bomb and documents recovery was fabricated and the case itself is a false one as reported by ASP CBCID SIT. Kingpin of of this false case( bomb conspiracy) is Rathna sabapathy, AC IS was transferred to Nilgris District. From this human rights activist opinion proved to be true.

Human rights activist were shocked to hear that,Instead of punishing the officer responsible for communally divisive dreaded conspiracy, the master mind of alleged bomb recovery conspiracy engineered by Rathna sabapathy himself, as reported, has been transferred again to Coimbatore and promoted as Additional Superintendent.

Innocent Muslim victim's campaign to publicize the plot against them and their religion and  conspiracy hatched by Rathna sabapathy is urgent necessity and mandatory for them. So they decided to launch poster campaign, posters were sticked throughout Tamilnadu. Following Incidents happened while sticking poster at Kadayanallur.

Posters containing following these two sentences

1.(Alleged bomb recovery) A FALSE CASE as reported by CBCID SIT

2.Dismiss Rathna sabapathy AC IS and assisting officers.

were sticked throughout Tamilnadu. Kadayanallur Sub Inspector Balasubramanian arrested Imam Mohideen Abdul kader (23) and Lukmanul Hakkeem (21) while they were sticking posters at usual (indisputable) place, on walls commonly used for sticking posters at Rahmaniyapuram 1st street around 6 AM. It is be noted that the poster did not contain any remarks that incites communal violence or hatred.

About 10 AM Inspector Ravi, DSP Ashok kumar came just after him started to beat them  indiscriminately, scolded with bad words "Muslim Bastards" and made them to kneel down and beat them severely with lathy on their legs.

Then they were brought to the court with handcuff all along the road from Kadayanallur police station and Case filed under section 153A,7(1) A CLA .

Amin(30) who was not at all present at Kadayanallur then and have no connection with this case or poster campaign of MNP had been falsely implicated into this case, he is said to be trying to get anticipatory bail to avoid arrest.

District secretary went there to enquire about their members, were thrown out from the police station by DSP Ashok kumar and Inspector Ravi.

On hearing this mistreatment and disgrace to their Secretary, MNP's District President Mr.Mubarak and Mr.Thehlan Baqavi , Vice president of MNP rushed to Tirunelveli SP office to file a complaint against misbehavior of DSP and inspector but they were allowed to meet SP only after 5 PM.

Meanwhile, about 4:30 PM more than 100 muslim general public gathered for peaceful agitation at Kadayanallur.

Police gang headed by DSP Ashok kumar, Inspectors PK.Ravi, Kannan, Sivan, Charles Kalaimani and Sub inspector Balasubramanian and 30 police man equipped with helmet and lathy started to beat the peaceful agitators without any prior warning and pushed them into the van.

This brutal onslaught continued for about 10 minutes almost all of them injured by lathy charge.

Those who could not run away and escape from the lathy charge were severely injured. Seven of them remanded first, two person Shiek oli, Nagoor kani injured severely at the spot were directly admitted to the hospital by police on same day and remanded two days later.

1.Nagoor Kani,

2.Shaik Oli,

3.Riyas Ahmed,

4.Hussain,

5.Shiek Mohamed Oli,

6.Bhadhusa,

7.Zakariya,

8.Peer Mohammed,

9.Mohamed Hussain

Totally 9 were remanded and case filed under section 147,188,353,332,506(1).

52 person arrested during the protest were sent to "Senai Thalaivar Samudhaya Kudam" and case filed under section 151 and released at 10:30 PM.

On the next day Masood ali one among 52 person came to Tirunelveli for medical treatment and admitted into Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital. while he went out to urinate, some policemen headed by P.K.Ravi arrested from the hospital premises and implicated him into the case along with the other out patient Mehraj Hyder Oli, he said to be trying for anticipatory bail.

5 of them remanded were small children 4 were imprisoned in pudukottai Juvenile board. 12 person released on bail. 11 under conditional bail. They must sign twice per day and have to submit their passport.

Police continues their harassment and combing operation to the houses including the arrested one, to create fear psychosis.

March 1 most of the shops at Kadayanallur remain closed in protest against illegalities of policemen.

Inspector Ravi DSP Ashok kumar refused the allegation and told they arrested them for another poster on RSS office Bomb blast at Tenkasi. But these posters sticked on February 15, 13days before, which condemns the bomb blast in RSS office engineered by themselves. Even this also did not contain any inflammatory or communally divisive remark.It urges the government to arrest the real culprit and encourages Hindu Muslim unity.

Police accused that the protesters with sticks attacked some policemen and they were admitted in the hospital. But those who were present during lathy charge operation Mr Ayubkhan Communist party Secretary and Tamilandu National liberation movement leader Mr Posumpon both were eye witness of the incident refuted police false justification and emphasized brutal onslaught made against peaceful demonstrators was unnecessary and inhuman.

But police did not accept anything and challenged us to go and complain anyone that they have enough evidence.

1. Action taken against those who are sticking posters peacefully is totally unjust. We strongly condemn prejudiced act. Though the Provocative and Inflammatory statements continuously issued by Hindutva organization and posters sticked by them around this area were unnoticed and overlooked by police, Action taken only on muslims are biased

2. Those who tried to protest peacefully were assaulted by policemen fully equipped to conduct full fledged lathy charge was planned. They might have arrest them under different section for conducting agitation without prior written permission but these youths were filed under very severe sections

3. Proper arrest procedures and court injunction have not been followed. They did not give information to the relatives of arrested person including some arrested small children. One person arrested in the Hospital during his medical treatment.

4.Injured were sent out by Hospital Authorities without proper medical treatment as per the instruction of police is pitiable, Tenkasi judicial magistrate Mr Guruwayyah also did not direct them to get medical treatment for the injured.

5. Comprehensive enquiry should be conducted on this illegalities and those responsible officers DSP Ashok Kumar, Inspector P.K Ravi and SI Balasubramanian should be suspended and enquired.

6.Posters about Rathna sabapathy is the root cause of these events. These poster campaign is a pragmatic attempt to remove misconception that demonizes Muslims as a terrorist and hate propaganda flared up against Islam in the media and in the public psyche by manipulation of Rathna sabapathy. So we appreciate Mr.BALAN ASP CBCID SIT for his indiscriminate report.

7.We condemn the promotion of Rathna sabapathy he must be suspended immediatedly and legal action should be taken against him.