Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007
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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007 ePaper |
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Tamil Nadu
In support: Annie Raja, general secretary, National Federation of Indian Women, addressing participants at a meeting in Sathyamangalam on Tuesday. SATHYAMANGALAM: V. Mani, a resident of Alangadu village, near Kolathur in Salem district, makes a monthly trip to a court at Bhavani in Erode district. The sexagenarian faces charges under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), for allegedly aiding forest brigand Veerappan, who was later killed in a Special Task Force (STF) operation. After languishing in jails in Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Chennai for about three years, the farm worker is out on bail, but is still fighting the case. Every trip to the court costs her dear, she says. “Being a poor farm worker, I cannot afford Rs. 300 for a court visit. And, that expenditure seems to yield no result, as the case gets only adjourned, as it has happened for the past 14 years,” she laments. She claims she had never seen the forest brigand. “I do not know if Veerappan had been fair or dark. But, I’ve been falsely implicated,” she says, tears rolling down her wrinkled cheeks. Somewhat similar is the tale of B. Kamala Mary. The resident of Sandanapalayam in Kollegal in Karnataka shuttles between her home and a jail in Belgaum, where her husband serves a life term. The charge against him is that he had helped Veerappan. Ms. Mary denies it and says the case destroyed her family and her children had to forego schooling. The two women were among hundreds of others who gathered here on Tuesday to demand justice at a meeting held to discuss their plight. They accused the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka of having failed to disburse Rs. 7.2 crore, out of the Rs.10-crore compensation ordered by the Justice Sadashiva Commission that probed the alleged excesses by the task force personnel during the operations. V.P. Gunasekaran of Tamil Nadu Pazhangudi Makkal Sangam, an organisation fighting for these people, said the Karnataka Government was yet to disburse the compensation of Rs. 61 lakh to victims of alleged excesses during the operation. The compensation was ordered by the National Human Rights Commission many years ago, he contended. Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women, who was here to express solidarity with the women, said they had suffered enough. “For 16 long years we have talked enough. Now is the time for action. Let us take our problems to the Governments at the Centre and in the two States, so that we get justice,” she said. She also sought the speedy disposal of cases. “You [the people] had gone through years of trouble. There should be no more adjournments. And, the State Governments should come forward to withdraw the pending cases.” Participants at the meeting also decided to take the issue to New Delhi to draw the attention of the leaders.
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