People’s Union for Civil Liberties, national and Tamil Nadu-Puducherry units, on Sunday strongly condemned the attack on its national general secretary V. Suresh at a public hearing held in Tirunelveli.
Arappor Iyakkam had organised a public hearing in Tirunelveli to address the illegal exploitation of mineral resources in several parts of the district and surrounding regions.
In a press release, PUCL said: “It is apparent that hired agents of the mining mafia, posing as members of the public, deliberately sought to disrupt the constitutional freedoms of speech and assembly by violent disruption leading up to criminal intimidation and causing physical hurt.”
It expressed concern that the attackers could have had the backing of members of both ruling and opposition parties, who allegedly benefit from illegal mining racket.
It urged the police to arrest all accused involved in the crime without any political bias and register cases against them.
The organisation also called on the Tamil Nadu government to ensure the safety of Mr. Suresh, Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam and others involved in the struggle.
Published – November 02, 2025 09:04 pm IST
