After RS Mugilan surfaced on 6 July 2019, almost five months after his disappearance, he was booked by the Kulithalai police in Karur district. He has since been released and continues his work in defence of human rights.

On 6 July 2019, human rights defender Shanmugam Thangasamy, better known as RS Mugilan, was seen by a friend in the custody of the Railway Police Force on Platform 1 of the Thirupathi Railway Station in Andhra Pradesh. RS Mugilan disappeared on 15 February 2019 on his way from Chennai to Madurai. He was last seen at the Chennai Egmore Railway Station after co-organising a press conference related to the killing of 13 protestors at a demonstration that took place in May 2018.

As of 28 March 2018, human rights defender RS Mugilan has been missing for nearly six weeks. On 18 March 2019, the Additional Superintendent of Police of the Crime Branch of the Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, filed a status report on the investigation into the disappearance of RS Mugilan at the High Court of Judicature in Madras.

As of 4 March 2019, human rights defender Shanmugam Thangasamy, better known as RS Mugilan, remains missing. On 15 February 2019, RS Mugilan disappeared while on his way from Chennai to Madurai. He was last seen at the Chennai Egmore Railway Station after having co-organised a press conference relating to the killing of 13 protestors at a demonstration in May 2018.