Thoothukudi firing: CPI, CPM urge State govt to reconsider promotion of Shailesh Kumar Yadav as DGP

CHENNAI: The CPI and CPM have urged the State government to rescind its decision to promote ADGP (Idol Wing) Shailesh Kumar Yadav as DGP considering the recommendation of the Justice (retired) Aruna Jagadeesan Commission to initiate action against him for his role in the 2018 firing on anti-Sterlite protestors in Thoothukudi.

"The promotion of Sailesh Kumar, who is accused of being the prime cause of the firing incident, is contrary to law, justice, and natural law, " CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said in a statement. He said that the commission had recommended action against then Thoothukudi district collector Venkatesh, the then South Zone IG Sailesh Kumar Yadav, SP Kapil Kumar Sarathkar, and other police and revenue officials.

CPM State Secretary K Balakrishnan said that the State government has told the Madras High Court that it has initiated action against the IAS and IPS officers a year after the Commission submitted its report.

"In a case filed by its former Thoothukudi district secretary KS Arjunan, the CBI special court in Madurai directed the government to submit a report on the action taken on the commission recommendation within six months. However, in this case, Sailesh Kumar Yadav, who was the IG of the South Zone, has now been promoted to DGP based on seniority, but we would like to point out that his promotion is an injustice to those who lost their lives in the firing," he said.

The 1993-batch IPS officer was serving as Inspector General of Police (South) when police firing at anti-Sterlite protestors on May 22, 2018, killed 13 people. After the police firing led to a major controversy, Yadav was shifted to Chennai and was later promoted to ADGP. He was posted as ADGP (Idol Wing) in February this year.