The mining mafia in Tamil Nadu is notorious for ruthlessly targeting anyone who dares to challenge its power and influence. The recent murder of a 58-year-old social activist, who had opposed illegal stone quarrying in Pudukkottai district, is reminiscent of many such attacks that have been unleashed time and again to silence whistleblowers.
The death of Jagaber Ali, who was also an AIADMK functionary, almost passed off as an accident. On January 17, Ali was heading to his hollow block manufacturing unit on a two-wheeler after afternoon prayers in the Vengalur mosque when he was knocked down by a lorry and killed. However, his wife, Mariyam, suspected foul play. She filed a police complaint saying her husband had been facing threats to his life from stone quarry operators in the Thirumayam areas as he had been lobbying and petitioning the authorities against illegal stone quarrying.
The police, which had initially registered a case under Section 194(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, then altered it as a case of murder after investigation. The four accused — Rasu, a quarry owner; his son Dinesh; Muruganandham, the lorry owner, and Kasinathan, driver — were arrested over the next couple of days. Ramaiah, a co-owner of the quarry, later surrendered before the police.
The government then transferred the case to the CB-CID. The team is expected to submit a report on the allegations of illegal quarrying soon. The inspector of the Thirumayam police station has been placed under suspension and a few local revenue officials have been transferred.
Nevertheless, the perceived inaction of district officials over Ali’s complaints that led to his murder sparked outrage. Several parties and organisations, including the Left parties and a few other allies of the ruling DMK, organised protests in Thirumayam. DMDK general secretary Premallatha Vijayakanth led a protest against the murder in the town.
However, the AIADMK’s reaction was rather muted. In a post on X, former Chief Minister and party general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, expressed shock over the murder of Ali and demanded action against not only those involved in illegal mining of mineral resources, but also those who had failed to act on Ali’s repeated complaints.
That the murder took place after Ali complained to the Tahasildar, the Assistant Director of Geology and Mining, and the District Collector caused fear among the people, he said. “The government had set a bad precedent by betraying the complainant,” Mr. Palaniswami added.
Environmental activists and local political functionaries were aghast at the audacity of the murder. According to activists who were associated with him, Ali had submitted a well-documented petition against the illegal stone quarrying to revenue officials a week before his murder.
The murder has triggered calls for enactment of a law to protect whistleblowers. “This is necessary as there is a rising threat to activists in Tamil Nadu,” said Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director, People’s Watch. On many occasions, activists have been threatened with dire consequences and sometimes, this has ended up in crimes such as murder in various districts, he said. Activists say such crimes have taken place irrespective of which party is in power in the State.
Addressing a press conference in Madurai, Mr. Tiphagne said various stakeholders were clearly working together, which encouraged illegal quarry owners to operate boldly.
It is not just activists who have been targeted. Often, officials of the revenue department and the police, who have sought to enforce rules, have also faced the wrath of the mining mafia. In April 2023, a village administrative officer, Y. Lourdhu Francis, was hacked to death by sand miners in Thoothukudi district. Five years prior to that, a police constable was brutally murdered in the neighbouring Tirunelveli district when he was about to arrest culprits mining sand from the Nambiyar river. Several other officials have either been killed or have faced murder attempts over the last three decades in the State. Hit-and-run attacks are very most common.
The alarming regularity of such murderous violence has brought to the fore the need for strong political will and firm measures to rein in the unchecked run of powerful quarry operators.
Published – January 30, 2025 02:10 am IST
