Human rights organization People’s Watch has asked the state government to appoint Additional Superintendent of Police S. He urged for re-examination and investigation of all ‘encounter’ killings cases involving Velladurai.
At a press meet held here on Monday, People’s Watch executive director Henry Tiphagne welcomed the Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission’s (SHRC) order seeking compensation to the family members of history-sheeter Murugan alias Kal Mandyan and Kavirasan. Recommended, those who were shot. Dead in an ‘encounter’ in Madurai in 2010 by a team of police personnel led by the then Assistant Commissioner of Police Vellaidurai.
The SHRC recommended the home department to pay Rs 3 lakh each to Murugan’s mother Guruvammal and Kavirasan’s mother Sitalakshmi. It also recommended that after payment of compensation, the home department may recover Rs 3 lakh from Mr Velladurai and Rs 1.5 lakh from police officers Thennarasu and Ganesan, who were part of the team involved in the ‘encounter’.
The SHRC observed that the then Assistant Commissioner had admitted that he had conducted four ‘encounters’. It was not known why most of the notorious criminals were being shot. Where criminals were killed, it should not be a matter of pride to admit to encounters in the past.
Stating that the deceased were notorious criminals would not absolve the police from their liability, it said that no law enforcing officer can give ‘death sentence’ which is the prerogative of the judiciary. It was the duty of the police to bring them before the criminal jurisprudence system and appropriate punishment.
The SHRC noted that the two history-sheeters were only property offenders and not individuals who were involved in violent crimes. Taking into account the post-mortem report, which showed that there was an entry and exit wound of the bullet, the SHRC observed that it indicated that the bullet was fired at point blank range and the aim of the police was only to kill the history-sheeters. Which was completely unacceptable.
Murugan’s mother Guruvammal was present at the press meet along with advocates representing him before the SHRC.