Former Madras High Court judge M. Sathyanarayanan, the one-man commission appointed by the Madras High Court to probe the incident of human faeces being found in an overhead tank that supplied water to Scheduled Caste residents of Vengaivayal in Pudukkottai district in December last year, on Saturday set in motion the inquiry process by visiting the village and conducting a meeting with the officials.
The retired judge conducted a meeting with Collector Kavitha Ramu, Superintendent of Police Vandita Pandey, Crime Branch CID Deputy Superintendent of Police Palpandi and other officials from 18 departments, including the Health, Revenue and Water Supply Board. He inquired about the incident and developments from day one, the investigation angles and action taken by the police and the administration.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Sathyanarayanan said that the inquiry would not only focus on finding the person behind the act but also on the prevention of such inhuman activities in the future. “This is just a preliminary inquiry, and we will decide how to take it forward,” he said, answering queries on the next course of action.
The former judge observed that the inquiry into the case was being carried out based on circumstantial evidence so far, in the absence of eye witnesses or CCTV cameras. The CB-CID was in the process of gathering scientific evidence, he pointed out.
When asked about the action taken against persons who did not turn up for a DNA test, he said: “The public cannot be compelled to provide blood samples, and if they are not cooperating, the police would report that to the Court.”
Talking about the compensation provided for the inhabitants of Vengaivayal, he said that only 25% of the compensation has been provided and the rest would be given after filing of the charge-sheet.
Earlier, Mr. Sathyanarayanan visited Vengaivayal village and inspected both the old and the newly-built overhead water tanks.
The one-man commission is expected to complete its inquiry and submit its report to the Madras High Court within two months.
