The State government on Friday extended the tenure of the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry (CoI) by six months to complete inquiry into the Thoothukudi firing incident in May 2018, in which 13 persons were killed. The CoI’s tenure was to expire on August 22. Justice Aruna Jagadeesan (retd.) had sought a year’s extension to complete the inquiry.
The government has extended its tenure till February 22, 2022, and no further extension will be provided beyond these six months, according to a Government Order (G.O.). The Commission has to complete its inquiry and submit its report in both English and Tamil to the government, on or before that date.
“The Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry has stated that considering the nature of inquiry, the time stipulated by the government is insufficient to complete the inquiry and submit the report to the government, and has requested the government to extend the term of the CoI by a year, from August 23, 2021,” the G.O. read. The government said that after careful consideration, a six-month extension had been granted.
The CoI submitted its interim report to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in May. The CoI, in its interim report, reportedly recommended the withdrawal of 244 “foisted cases” against 400 youth, illegally detained after the police firing, and the payment of adequate compensation to the victims of police torture. Over 700 witnesses have been examined by the CoI since it was constituted by the then AIADMK government in May 2018.
