Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday ordered the withdrawal of most of the cases filed against anti-Sterlite protesters. He also handed over appointment orders to the kin of 17 persons who were killed or severely wounded in the Thoothukudi police firing incident in May 2018.
The appointment orders were based on the educational qualifications of the beneficiaries.
The Chief Minister also ordered the provision of no-objection certificates to those arrested during the protests to enable them to pursue higher education and employment.
An official release said the government accepted the recommendations made in the interim report of the Aruna Jegadeesan Committee. The report was submitted on May 14. The committee had recommended that needless cases filed against the protesters be withdrawn. After consultations with the Advocate-General, and based on a report from the Director-General of Police, the Chief Minister ordered the withdrawal of most of the cases, the release said.
The government will also provide ₹1 lakh in compensation to each of the 93 persons who were arrested and suffered injuries and mental agony. One more person was arrested in a different case, and he died in prison. The government will provide ₹2 lakh in compensation to his 72-year-old mother. The government will withdraw all cases, except those that have been transferred to the CBI, those filed for destruction of public and private property and some of the cases filed before May 22, 2018 — when the police opened fire, killing 12 persons in Thoothukudi — that are pending before the Supreme Court.
