Water rights’ activists trying to audit a waterbody in Perungudi were detained by the police on Saturday.
After the group of 11 volunteers from Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO, visited Kallukuttai lake on Saturday, police personnel led by Inspector Devaraj of the Taramani police station detained them, preventing them from working on their research project.
Haris Sulthan, who led the team of volunteers, said they reached Perungudi at 7.30 a.m. on Saturday and found a few police personnel collecting intelligence on the project.
“The police personnel congratulated us on the citizens’ audit and left the place in the morning. After we formed two groups at the mid-point of the Perungudi MRTS and the Taramani MRTS, another group of police personnel asked us to stop the work, claiming we did not have permission. We said we were willing to get permission according to the rules. But they detained us,” said Mr. Sulthan.
The police reportedly released the volunteers at 5.30 p.m. “They refused to give us a copy of the FIR,” said Mr. Sulthan.
The volunteers have been working on auditing 30 waterbodies, including the Villivakkam tank, following which the State government started the restoration project.
The volunteers arrested on Saturday included Prashant, Palanisamy, Krishan Dayal, Ravi Chandran, Om Prakash, William Carry, Balaji C.R., Jagan, Keerthi Vasan Netaji and Sajjeevan.
“The visit to the Kallukuttai lake was part of a month-long study by the activists,” said Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam.
The city police said the team of activists was detained following a complaint from the locals. A senior police officer clarified, “When the water rights’ activists from Arappor Iyakkam were visiting the Kallukuttai lake in Perungudi and inspecting the area, local residents were furious. On suspicion, the locals opposed their activities and picked up an argument with them. They then reported this to the local police.”
Case booked
“We were also on bandobust duty in the area since the President was visiting the law university. Following reports that they could block the convoy of the President, we detained them at a wedding hall and released them in the evening. We booked a case against them as well,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, human rights’ activists condemned the arrest. People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) national general secretary V. Suresh, in his letter to the City Police Commissioner, said the “high-handed behaviour and illegal action of the police” was in brazen violation of all fundamental rights.
