Stalin meets kin of Ramanathapuram police firing victims

RAMNATHPURAM: Even as normalcy is returning slowly across Ramanathapuram district, former deputy chief minister M K Stalin travelled to villages in and around Paramakudi on Thursday and met family members of the victims who were killed in the police firing on September 11.
Stalin reached Madurai around 1.25pm accompanied by senior DMK functionaries and drove down to Paramakudi.He first visited the kin of P Theerpukani (27), son of Pandi, at Keelakodumalur and consoled the family members. Assuring Pandi that DMK would never let them down, Stalin said, "Don't worry. We are there to take care of you." He then gave a solatium of Rs 1 lakh to Pandi. Pandi, who refused to receive the solatium offered by the state government, accepted the money given by Stalin. He also met 50-year-old T Panneerselvam.
Angry villagers, who gathered around Stalin to narrate their plight, demanded that the police officers who were accompanying him need not enter the village. The police stayed away at the entry point of the village. It is to be noted that DMK leaders were apprehensive about entering Paramakudi as Section 144 was in force there.
Stalin said, "It was saddening to hear the plight of the victims. They told me the police acted in a very brutal manner. This incident is a clear example of the dictatorial rule in Tamil Nadu. DMK leader Karunanidhi will soon clarify on whether we should raise the demand for a CBI inquiry." Slamming the AIADMK government for fixing the solatium at just Rs 1 lakh, he said, "In fact, AIADMK allies themselves are questioning the rationale behind such a low solatium."
Stalin criticised chief minister J Jayalalithaa for her statement that action against the police officers involved in the firing would be taken only after the judicial inquiry report was submitted. Citing the example of the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast case, Stalin said the then DMK government had initiated action against police officers even as the inquiry was in progress.
Later, he travelled through Paramakudi and visited the house of R Ganesan of Pallavarayanenthal who was killed in the police firing while he was inviting relatives for his son's marriage. His son Gunasekaran married on Thursday as scheduled, and got to interact with Stalin after that. "I am sent here by Thalaivar Kalaignar to look after you. I was shocked when I heard about your plight. Don't lose heart," he told him.
Stalin also met the family members of G Muthukumar (26) in Kadayaneri, P Jayapaul (29) in Manjur and K Venkatasamy (29) in Kathanenthal. Later, he visited the government hospital at Madurai and enquired about the well being of those admitted there.