7 murders in 10 years: The cost of fighting for the environment in Tamil Nadu

Over seven local activists across Tamil Nadu have been brutally murdered while attempting to protect natural resources, but even after death, justice eludes them.

Delve Law, order and justice

(This is a video documentary)

In just the last decade, over seven local activists across Tamil Nadu have been brutally murdered while attempting to protect natural resources. And to make matters worse, even after death, justice eludes them as the police allegedly join hands with the perpetrators who are responsible for exploitation of the environment.

In July this year,the Madras High Court was giving his verdict on one such case and highlighted the shoddy investigation by the police. Thanickachalam, a 60-year-old activist from Vellore district had been murdered in November, 2014. He had been fighting to remove encroachments from a water channel that could meet the needs of 21 villages. And while his family and fellow activists alleged that it was the work of the encroachers, the police only booked a local 'hitman' named Logananthan.

"We went to the Ambur police station but they they behaved in favour of the encroachers from the very beginning. We gave a complaint against 7 people. But they said you have to give complaint only against one person and not all of them. We still persisted and gave a complaint against 5 encroachers and two hitmen," says Ramesh, who had been fighting alongside Thanickachalam to clear the encroachments. "They told us to come the next day and we found that they had only arrested and filed an FIR only against Loganathan alias Venkatesan. No action was taken against the other 6 men. So in 2015, we approached the High Court asking for a CBCID probe. It was the only way we could get justice," he adds.

In court, Justice Anand Venkatesan said, "It is very clear from the records that the respondent police had focused upon only one accused person, who is already a history sheeter, and conveniently filed a final report by showing him as the accused person."

"The names of all the encroachers against whom the deceased was fighting and upon whom, the needle of suspicion was pointing, have all been dropped from the final report. In short, this is one of the most slipshod investigation conducted by the respondent police," he added.

The case was finally shifted to the CB CID this year and Thanickachalam's family believe he will get justice.

"But we do not know who will clear this water channel now," says Ramesh.

And while this family can breathe a temporary sight of relief, in Tirunelveli, the family of 21-year-old Satish Kumar, continues to await justice. He was murdered in 2012, when he tried to stop illegal sand-mining at his village, Mittatharkulam. The truck carrying the sand, allegedly owned by an AIADMK functionary, ran over him.

"This government never asked us anything about how my son died. I have gone from one court to another - Valliyoor, Naguneri and Tirunelveli. I have got no justice at all," says his father Eshter. "No one (authorities) has asked how he died. I don't know why courts exist. Is it only for rich? Or for poor also? Is it for politicians? Even the police..they give importance to the perptrators. They take money and speak in support of them. We don't have money, we give up our lives and feel defeated," he adds.

But even with justice seemingly elusive, the families are prepared to continue fighting for these activists and what they stood for. This, despite, the fear for their lives.

"I am scared even now," says Ramesh. "Till Thanikachalam was there, there was some fear. Now that has increased after his death. But if we let fear take over we can't do any work for our village. We are forgetting fear to do what we do. We have to do this for the people and village. What the government should have done, we are forced to do."