Committee demands judicial inquiry on police excesses

Puducherry, Apr 13(UNI) The Peoples Protection Committee which is leading the agitation against the Port Development project here today demanded a judicial enquiry into the police atrocities on the agitators.

Talking to newspersons here, Committee President C H Balamohanan and Puducherry Munnetra Congress (PMC) spokesman K Lakshminarayanan, MLA said the people had organised the agitation to express their protests against the project.

The Minister for Port, E Valsaraj time and again said the government would execute the work, despite the opposition from the Thengaithittu people, which prompted them to organise the agitation, they alleged.

They said seven persons including Councillor Bhaskaran were injured in the police attack. Police also hurled heaps of abuses on them, they alleged.

They demanded that the government drop the project and find a permanent solution to the problems.

They said an all party meeting had been scheduled for tomorrow in which the next course of action would be chalked out. The support of PMK was also sought on the issue and the police atrocities would be raised in the assembly on April 16, Mr Lakshminarayanan said.

It may be noted that three police personnel including an inspector were also injured in a clash with Mr Bhaskaran and six others over the project issue.

The agitators smashed the windscreen of a government bus and damaged a police jeep.

The injured, who were were admitted to the government hospital and JIPMER hospital were discharged. Heavy police pickets had been posted at Vasanthnagar, as tension prevailed in the area.

UNI