Coimbatore: Six years after they were arrested and detained under serious charges including the National Security Act for allegedly attempting to derail trains near Tiruppur, five Dalit activists were finally acquitted of all charges by a local court in Coimbatore on Monday.
The five men - M Gandhi, 38, R Parameswaran, 45, R Manickam, 57, VC Kathiravan, 39, and K Mani, 38 - all from Uthukuli, Tirupur, were activists belonging to the Aathi Thamilar Peravai or the Arunthathiyar Viduthalai Iyakkam, groups that had been protesting the Eelam War.
On November 26, 2010, a special team of Q Branch police picked up Gandhi and Parameswaran from their homes for allegedly attempting to sabotage six trains between June and November of 2010.
A month later, police arrested the other three men and accused them of attempting to derail a passenger train.
All five were booked under sections 150 (1) (A) (maliciously wrecking or attempting to wreck a train) and 151 (intent to cause damage or destruction to any property of a railway) of the Railways Act. In March of 2011, both Gandhi and Parameswaran were booked under the National Security Act, which was subsequently challenged by their lawyers in the High Court.
They were represented by advocates B Mohan, S Sampath, R Kalaiarasu, M V Vijay Raghavan and R Prasanth. On Monday, the Coimbatore Judicial Magistrate VI Rajavelu acquitted them of all the charges.
Speaking to Express, their lawyers said the police failed to prove any of the charges made against their clients. “The police had no physical or circumstantial evidence to prove the case,” they said.
The police had alleged that the five men had wanted to derail trains to protest against the State government’s perceived inaction during the last phase of the Eelam war in Sri Lanka.
The police had also claimed that the “attacks” were specifically coordinated to impact the proceedings of the World Classical Tamil Conference, which took place in July of 2010 here at Coimbatore.
The five men - M Gandhi, 38, R Parameswaran, 45, R Manickam, 57, VC Kathiravan, 39, and K Mani, 38 - all from Uthukuli, Tirupur, were activists belonging to the Aathi Thamilar Peravai or the Arunthathiyar Viduthalai Iyakkam, groups that had been protesting the Eelam War.
On November 26, 2010, a special team of Q Branch police picked up Gandhi and Parameswaran from their homes for allegedly attempting to sabotage six trains between June and November of 2010.
A month later, police arrested the other three men and accused them of attempting to derail a passenger train.
All five were booked under sections 150 (1) (A) (maliciously wrecking or attempting to wreck a train) and 151 (intent to cause damage or destruction to any property of a railway) of the Railways Act. In March of 2011, both Gandhi and Parameswaran were booked under the National Security Act, which was subsequently challenged by their lawyers in the High Court.
They were represented by advocates B Mohan, S Sampath, R Kalaiarasu, M V Vijay Raghavan and R Prasanth. On Monday, the Coimbatore Judicial Magistrate VI Rajavelu acquitted them of all the charges.
Speaking to Express, their lawyers said the police failed to prove any of the charges made against their clients. “The police had no physical or circumstantial evidence to prove the case,” they said.
The police had alleged that the five men had wanted to derail trains to protest against the State government’s perceived inaction during the last phase of the Eelam war in Sri Lanka.
The police had also claimed that the “attacks” were specifically coordinated to impact the proceedings of the World Classical Tamil Conference, which took place in July of 2010 here at Coimbatore.