Peopl e’s Watch, a Madurai-based human rights group, has alleged that the CBI inquiry into the police firing during the anti-Sterlite protests was yet to pick up pace. In the FIR registered by the CBI, names of the policemen involved were not mentioned, said the organisation in a report.
In August 2018, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had ordered a CBI inquiry and directed the Central agency to complete its investigation by four months.
However, nine months since, the investigation is yet to be completed and only two general FIRs have been registered, said People’s Watch, in its report titled ‘A year after Thoothukudi Burned,’ published as part of the first anniversary of the incident.
The organisation said that the policemen involved had not faced inquiry till date. There is a general concern that the CBI team had not inquired enough number of people and there is no clear picture on where the investigation is heading. This does not add hope to the people seeking justice. The organisation also pointed to the slow-paced inquiry into the incident by the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission. The Commission was mandated to complete its in vestigation within three months of its appointment.
