Activists led by Pazha Nedumaran, president of the Ulaga Tamizhar Peramaippu, on Sunday urged the State government to order a judicial inquiry by a retired judge of the Madras High Court into the alleged assault on Salem-based activist Piyush Manush when he was lodged in the Central Prison here last month.
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the meeting various human rights organisations brought up by the Movement against State Oppression to condemn the alleged attack on Mr. Manush, Mr. Nedumaran said the government was responsible for the safety and security of people lodged in judicial custody.
Mr. Manush has been beaten up badly by the prison authorities, he alleged, adding that the public had the right to know who the people behind the attack were. The assault reminded him of the police shooting on the cadre of Communist Party lodged in the Salem Central Prison in the 1950s.
Referring to the ongoing inquiry into the incident by the DIG of Prisons, Mr. Nedumaran said that an inquiry by a superior official of the same department would not serve the purpose. It should be done by a retired High Court judge, he said.
Endorsing T. Velmurugan, founder of the Tamizhaga Vaazhvurimai Katchi, alleged that the attack by the police on activists and leaders and cadre of political parties fighting for the rights of the people was a recurring problem.
Mr. Velmurugan said that as soon as the report of assault of Mr. Manush surfaced, the government should have acted instantly and initiated action the officials involved in it.
Negligence allegedHenry Tiphagne, founder, People’s Watch, said there was negligence on the part of local judicial officers. On behalf of the Human Rights Defenders Alert-India, a petition was submitted to the Madras High Court to direct the protocol judge assigned to Salem district to inquire into the negligence of judicial officers. He said that he had also approached the NHRC to send a rapporteur to investigate the case.
