PUCL, October
2003
MOST URGENT
1110.2003
To
Hon. Dr A P J Abdul Kalam
President
Govt. Of India
New Delhi
Sub.: Threats to the Life and
safety of family of Mr. Kannabiran, 0National President, PUCL in the wake
of assassination bid on Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, CM of AP.
Honble President Sir,
It was deeply shocking to hear about threats to the life and personal
safety of civil liberties activists in Andhra Pradesh in the wake of the
assassination bid on the life of Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister
of A.P. near Tirupati on 1st October, 2003. As a human rights body, PUCL
has always condemned the use of violence as a political method.
In particular, we condemn the recent assassination attempt on the life of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh also, which fortunately did not succeed in its aim.
For the past over a decade, every time any senior police officer or political personality has been injured or killed in Andhra Pradesh due to attacks by CPI(ML) group, there has been retaliatory assassination attempts on the lives of civil liberties activists in AP. A significant number of prominent leaders of the civil liberties movement in the state have also been killed. Mention may be made of Dr. Ramanadham, J. Laxma Reddy and others. The well -known balladeer Gaddar has also been the subject of many threats and attempts by groups which owe allegiance to or are protected by the state police.
It is in such a context that we bring to your attention threats received
by close family members of Mr. K.G. Kannabiran,
Senior Advocate and President, National PUCL following the recent incidents
in Tirupati.
We are confident that you, sir, will respond immediately in this
matter and pass suitable directions to the police authorities in AP
to ensure that nothing untoward happens to Mr. Kannabiran or his family
members.
While all attempts should be made by the police to investigate the
assassination attempt on the Chief Minister and apprehend the true culprits,
retributive justice should not be resorted to by the law enforcers, either
directly by themselves or by being tacit observers while political goons
or mafia elements close to the police or enjoying their patronage indulge
in retributive or avenging acts. We therefore request to you sir to issue
guidelines and directives to the AP Police to follow the established legal
procedures, respect constitutional guidelines and uphold the rule of law.
In view of the real threats to the lives and safety of Mr. Kannabiran
and his close family, and to other civil liberties activists and
human rights defenders, we look forward to your immediate response.
With Regards,
Yours sincerely,
Arun Kumar
Vice-President, PUCL, Bihar
Chief Editor, Manavadhikar