Vengaivayal case: Madras HC says no to protest against police

CHENNAI: The Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking permission to organise a protest against the police to expedite the probe into the Vengaivayal case.

Kannan, the petitioner from Tirumangalam, sought a fair probe into the issue and wanted to expedite the proceedings and punish the guilty.

On December 26 in 2022, human faeces were found dumped in an overhead tank at Vengaivayal in Pudukkottai district, and the incident shook the local community, submitted the petitioner. In this regard, when the police were approached for permission to hold a protest, the request was turned down, he said.

It was submitted that the CB-CID, post investigation, filed a chargesheet before the court concerned in Pudukkottai, and three persons were treated as accused in the case after enquiring a total of 389 witnesses. Further, it was said that call records on 197 cell phones that were active in 87 towers of various service providers were examined in connection with the incident, and 31 DNA samples were obtained as part of the investigation.

The CB-CID, in its argument, objected to granting permission to protest, adding that a thorough and effective investigation was conducted and a chargesheet has also been filed in the case. Therefore, there was no need to conduct a protest, and the counsel for CB-CID called for the disposal of the petition.

Justice M Nirmal Kumar, who earlier heard the petition in January, reserved his judgment. The judge on Tuesday endorsed the denial of permission by the police as the case was heading in the right direction and stated that he did not wish to interfere with the police investigation, while disposing of the case.

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