Mr. Muruganandam

Human Rights Defender

Puducherry

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on August 7 regarding the Puducherry Senior Police Chief who has been personally directing the registration of a series of false cases against human rights defender Mr. Muruganandam in different police stations, all in one day, within a matter of three hours. There is also the registration of a ‘rowdy list’ at Orelenpet Police Station containing the name of the human rights defender, ostensibly to detain him under a preventive detention law.

Mr. Muruganandham is founder of the Human Rights and Consumer Protection Society (HRCPS), which is the only membership-based human rights organisation in the state of Puducherry.

Mr. Muruganandam has intervened in the suspicious death of one Ms. Dhivya in Muthirapalayam, Puducherry. He carried out a fact-finding exercise and realised that Mr.Vignesh, the husband, had an alleged hand in the death of Ms. Dhivya. As a result, on July 24, 2017, Mr. Muruganandam peacefully protested along with the villagers of Muthirapalayam, human rights defenders and the family members of the deceased person.

They demanded legal action against Mr. Vignesh who is the prime accused in the death of Ms. Dhivya and requested that her body be handed over either to her family members or villagers who had close association with her. Condemning the action of Ms. Rachna Singh, Superintendent of Police, they had put up wall posters in Tamil and English demanding the transfer of the said police officer who showed insensitivity in handling the case of suspicious death. This action of Mr. Muruganandam irritated the Senior Superintendent of Police and

hence the local police was ‘forced’ to register false and fabricated cases against him and his staff members.

The Puducherry police have put multiple cases against the Mr. Muruganandam. In Odiansalai Police Station, there is a false case against Mr. Muruganandam with Cr. No: 121/2017 under Sections 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code on August 02, 2017 and the Lawspet Police Station have booked a false case Cr.No: 96/2017 under Sections 384, 506 (2) of the Indian Penal Code on August 03, 2017. Now it is learnt that the Mettupalayam Police have altered the Cr. No: 60/2017 under Section 6 of POP and PD Act 2000 that was filed only against Mr. Suresh and have registered a new case with Cr.No: 64/2017 under Section 505 (2) of IPC against Mr. Muruganandam, Mr. Kalidoss and Mr. Murali.

The personnel of Orelenpet Police Station have added Mr. Muruganandam in the rowdy list, referring to the earlier peaceful agitations conducted by him when formal cases against him were registered under Sec. 151 of IPC. The Puducherry Police are preparing to detain Mr. Muruganandam under a preventive detention law (Puducherry Prevetion of Anti-Social Activities Act,

2010). Mr. Muruganandam had also met the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Puducherry Union Territory, Mr. Narayanasamy, along with 50 human rights defenders on 04.08.2017 and presented him a memorandum at 10 am outlining in detail what had taken place since then and praying to stop the unlawful attempt of the Senior Superintendent of Police of Puducherry, Mr. Raju Ranjan IPS, to detain him under a preventive detention law.