By TCN News,
Chennai: Anti-nuclear activists have clarified that they have nothing to do with the Tuesday blast in a village in the Kudankulam district of Tamil Nadu.
There occurred a blast at a house in the Tsunami Colony, which is 1.5 kms away from Idinthakarai village. There has been a vehement rivalry between two groups belonging to the Koothenkuzhy village over the sea sand mining issue there. When the sand mafia drove many of the people out of Koothenkuzhy, they had taken refuge in the neighbouring villages. When the group in Idinthakarai had tried to make country bombs, the Idinthakarai Village Committee did ask them to leave the village. However, some people had stayed back with their families in the Tsunami Colony doing fishing. Several families chose to stay because of their children’s education and for protection of pregnant women. Some of these men’s misadventure must have resulted in the blast on November 26, 2013.
In a press statement, the People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) said, “We went on record immediately after the blast that the people of Idinthakarai and the PMANE Struggle Committee had absolutely nothing to do with the bomb blast.”
The Superintendent of Police of Tirunelveli district, Mr. Vijayendra Bidari, had also said that “the blast had no connection with the ongoing protest against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP).”
However, the same police officers said later that the police were going to charge the Struggle Committee members with serious cases and the same was reported widely in all news channels. In the end, three men, Yahappan, Vijay and Jesu Maria Soosai of Koothenkuzhi have been charged under the sections 304, 324, 326, 286, 436; 3, 4, 5 of Explosive Act; Section 4 of TNPPD Act.
PMANE clarified that it does not believe in violence or bomb-making, and the people of Idinthakarai and the PMANE have absolutely nothing to do with the blast.
They condemned those who are behind this mindless action and express our sincere condolences to the bereaved families. We would also thank the various political parties for expressing their support and solidarity with the struggling people.