Chennai police deny permission for Arappor Iyakkam's hunger strike

CHENNAI: The Chennai city police have denied permission for anti-graft organisation Arappor Iyakkam's hunger strike planned to be held at Valluvar Kottam for Sunday. The police cited the possibility of traffic congestion -- due to a possible large number of participants -- for denying permission.

The strike was to demand a DVAC (Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption) probe into the alleged scam involving the import of coal from Indonesia for Tangedco through an Adani Group firm.

Arappor Iyakkam convenor Jayaram Venkatesan condemned the denial of permission and decided to conduct a protest meeting at his office in Nungambakkam from 9am to 12.30pm.

"Despite submitting the letter seeking permission for the hunger strike a month ago, the permission was denied in a designated place citing possible traffic congestion on a Sunday morning. It shows how desperate the state govt is to silence the voices against it," he said.

In the communication from the city police, it was stated that a reliable input had been received indicating that more people were likely to take part in the hunger strike. This would result in traffic congestion, cause disturbance to the public and lead to law and order problems.

The hunger strike was planned to exert pressure on the DVAC to register a case on Arappor Iyakkam's complaint about the alleged coal scam. In this scam, the Adani firm purchased low-quality coal and sold it to Tangedco as high-quality coal at a higher price than the market prices that prevailed between 2012 and 2016.