HC directs State to provide employment, compensation to woman from Tenkasi dt.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the State to provide employment and compensation as per the provisions under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to a Scheduled Caste woman from Tenkasi district.

The petitioner M. Meena of Sankarankoil said that her husband Murugan, a van driver, allegedly died due to police assault. She sought appropriate action against the police personnel, adequate compensation under the provisions of the SC/ST Act and a government job to a family member.

She said that on March

Petitioner M. Meena of Sankarankoil said that her husband Murugan, a van driver, died due to police assault and sought appropriate action against the police personnel

8, her husband Murugan was travelling from Achampatti to Sankarankoil with some passengers.

At around 7.30 p.m., the van was involved in an accident. The van inadvertently hit an autorickshaw due to traffic congestion.

Following the incident, a few police personnel who were nearby started questioning her husband and used filthy language. They asked him to get down from the van. When he refused to get down from the vehicle, three police personnel got into the van and beat him up till he fainted, she alleged.

The van was taken to Sankarankoil police station. From the police station her husband was taken to the hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The family of the deceased staged a protest condemning the police.

Justice G.R. Swaminathan perused the CCTV footage of the incident and observed that the videograph produced before the court prima facie indicated that the van driver was roughly handled by the police personnel.

What exactly transpired was the subject matter of the investigation and it would not be proper on the part of the court to render any definitive finding in this regard.

The court directed the State to provide employment to the petitioner in the post of Anganwadi worker and depending on the vacancy, consider appointing her in the post of Village Assistant.

The court ordered compensation to the family as per the provisions under the SC/ST Act.

The court observed that the investigation in the case was proceeding on the right lines.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBCID, Tirunelveli will be the formal investigating officer, the court directed and disposed of the petition.