Chennai, July 22: A judicial Commission has pinpointed “communal ill feeling” and lapses by three police officials as reasons for the clash between two groups of students at a college here last year, which led to grievous injuries to four of them.
The Justice P Shanmugam Commission, that probed the clash at Dr Ambedkar Law College here on November 12 2008, found existence of “communal ill-feeling” in the hostel.
The Commission’s report, tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday, also faulted three police officials for ‘lapses’ in preventing the caste clash, despite prior intelligence.
“In the Dr Ambedkar Government Law College, enmity based on communal ill feeling between two groups of students exists…Hostel students function as a group. In the college, the Mukhulathor community also functions as a group”, the Commission observed.
The report said both groups celebrate the birthdays of Dr Ambedkar and Thevar Jayanthi (birth and death anniversaries of freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar, revered by the Thevar community) respectively”.
The day scholars allegedly pasted posters in and around the college for celebrating Thevar Jayanthi on October 30, where the word Dr Ambedkar was reportedly omitted, which, the Commission said, triggered the clash.
This act had led to a verbal duel between the two groups on November six, 2008, resulting in the alleged assault of hostel students the next day. The other group retaliated on November 12.
While Assistant Commissioner K Narayanamoorthy and Inspector Sekar Babu were suspended, then City Police Commissioner R Sekar was transferred.
The Commission concluded that the police team posted before the law college “failed to take steps to prevent the clash.” Despite intelligence reports over a possible clash and entry of students, police did little to prevent it.
Not only did police not enter the premises, but also ‘suppressed’ a written complaint and also phone requests from the then College Principal requesting assistance, when they appeared before the Commission.
The Commission recommended that departmental action be initiated against them.
As for the Law college, the Commission called for banning any caste-based associations in the hostel, among other steps.
–PTI