The Madras high court has sought a status report on the missing anti-Sterlite activist Mugilan. He has been missing since February 15 and had last held a press conference wherein he accused two senior policemen for the shootout that killed 13 people in the anti-Sterlite protest in Thoothukudi
Chennai: The Madras high court has ordered the Crime Branch’s Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) Police to file a status report on anti-Sterlite activist Mugilan who has been missing since February 15.
Reports said that the court passed the order on habeas corpus petition moved by human rights activist Henri Tiphagne. Tiphagne sought directions from the court to order the Tamil Nadu Police to trace Mugilan and produce him before the court.
Tiphagne’s petition stated that Mugilan went missing after he exposed the alleged involvement of two senior police officials in the firing that took place in Thoothukudi against anti-Sterlite protestors on May 22, 2018 in which 13 people were killed.
The counsel for the Tamil Nadu government informed the court that the case has been transferred to CB-CID when the counsel for Tiphagne, Sudha Ramalingam sought that the probe be conducted by an independent agency.
The court, however, refused this plea stating that it cannot interfere in the police investigation and posted the case for March 18.
Mugilan, coordinator of Tamil Nadu Environment Protection Movement, went missing on February 15 night while travelling from Chennai Egmore to Madurai.
Earlier that day, he had conducted a press conference accusing two senior police officers of being complicit when the miscreants torched government vehicles and destroyed CCTV cameras in Thoothukudi.
On Saturday, a number of political parties in Tamil Nadu came together to demand that the government take efforts to trace Mugilan.
The DMK, VCK, MDMK, CPI and TVK took part in the protest meeting and demanded that special investigating teams be formed to find Mugilan.
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