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Report on Thoothukudi police firing exposes former TN CM Palaniswami

13 people were killed in the police firing at anti-Sterlite protestors on May 22, 2018 at Thoothukudi. Contrary to then CM Edappadi Palaniswami’s claim that he was not aware of the police firing he was given minute-to-minute updates on the protests and the incidents, according to the statements of officials.

Report on Thoothukudi police firing exposes former TN CM Palaniswami

Report on Thoothukudi police firing exposes former TN CM Palaniswami

The Aruna Jagadeesan Commission, which went into the police firing at anti-Sterlite protestors on May 22, 2018 at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu in which 13 persons were killed, has thrown light on the false statement made by the then chief minister, Edappadi Palaniswami of the AIADMK, that he knew about the police firing only from TV channels.

The Commission’s report was tabled in the Assembly on October 18, followed by Chief Minister M K Stalin’s assertion on Wednesday that action would be taken against those found guilty by the panel.

Contrary to Edappadi Palaniswami’s assertion that he was not aware of the police firing, the Commission detailed evidence from statements of officials that he was given minute-to-minute updates on the protests and the incidents.

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The then Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, then Director-General of Police T.K. Rajendran, then Intelligence chief K.N. Sathiyamurthy “have been updating the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami with minute-to-minute development,” the Commission has recorded.

The Thoothukudi police firing was unprovoked, and action should be taken against Collector too, apart from police officials, the Aruna Jagadeesan Commission said.

Several parties, allies of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, today raised the issue of the panel report proving that Palaniswami’s claim was false, and demanded that the Government should take action against him too for the unprovoked police firing.

Meanwhile, the chief minister promised proper action by the government in accordance with the Commission report. The government has decided against enhancing the compensation to the families of those who were killed and injured in the police firing in Thoothukudi on May 22, 2018, from the ₹20 lakh and ₹5 lakh that had already been paid respectively.

The Aruna Commission report on the Thoothukudi police firing comes as an embarrassment to the opposition AIADMK even while it is taking to take on the ruling DMK regarding what it calls omissions and commissions.

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