P Maniarasan

Tamil Nadu

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on 19^th June, regarding the planned attack on Tamil nationalist leader Mr. P Maniarasan. Mr. P Maniarasan aged 71 is the president of a people’s movement called Tamil Desiya Periyakkam, organiser of the Cauvery Water Rights Retrieval Committee and a dedicated Human Rights Defender, who has been involved in a number of democratic protests in Tamil Nadu for the last four decades.

Mr. P Maniarasan along with Mr. Srinivasan, another of his movement member, was riding on a two wheeler towards the Thanjavur Railway Station to board a train to Chennai. The two assailants had been following Mr. P Maniarasan on a bike for two kilometres and when they reached the godown near Vallam, the assailants rammed into Mr. P Maniarasan's bike. He suffered injuries on both his knees and was taken to a nearby hospital.

The police have booked a case at the Thanjavur Medical College Police station under sec. 394 IPC as a case of robbery. In a specific complaint lodged by him with the Thanjavur Medical College Police Station, he has clearly mentioned that the assailants’ intention was not robbery but to hurt him. However, despite the assailant’s intentions mentioned in the FIR, police registered his FIR under section 394 IPC too.

HRDA prayed for thorough investigation and to take immediate actions on the perpetrators of the case.