Not road accident, Pudukkottai anti-mining activist was murdered, find police; arrest five

CHENNAI: Five people have been arrested in connection with the suspicious death of a social activist in Pudukkottai, who had been fighting against illegal sand mining in the region.

Earlier reports indicated that the activist, K Jagaber Ali (58) from Venkalur near Tirumayam in Pudukkottai, died in a road accident. But the Tirumayam police have now reclassified the case as a murder, said a Thanthi TV report.

Ali was returning from the mosque on Friday afternoon when he was hit by a lorry and died on the spot. Tirumayam police rushed to the spot, retrieved the body and sent it to the GH for post-mortem examination.

The police initially registered a case as road accident death. However, on Saturday, Ali’s wife Mariyam complained to the Tirumayam police raising suspicions about the case.

In her complaint, Mariyam said Ali had been opposing mining in and around Tirumayam by complaining to the officials and also approaching the court. This earned enmity from the owners of mines, particularly a granite quarry functioning at Thulaiyanur near Valayanvayal in Tirumayam, she said.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Environment Protection Committee coordinator RS Mugilan said in a statement that Ali was continuously opposing the mining activities in Pudukkottai and thus earned enmity from the quarry owners.

“The nature of the accident and the distance to which the body was thrown in the impact show that it was a planned murder. The police should initiate a fair investigation,” the statement added.

(with BUREAU inputs)