Techie-turned farmers’ activist Arul Arumugam, who organised the farmers’ stir against the proposed expansion of SIPCOT near Cheyyar in Tiruvannamalai, was released from Palayamkottai Central Prison on Wednesday after the District Sessions Court in Tiruvannamalai granted him conditional bail.
The release of Mr. Arul comes after the State government on January 5 revoked charges under the Goondas Act on him.
“A total of 21 farmers have been jailed in Madurai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore and Tirunelveli since November 6 when we were arrested. I was the lone farmer lodged in Palayamkottai jail,” Mr. Arul told The Hindu.
He said his stir against the proposed project would continue to save cultivable lands from being converted for non-farming activities. Farmers from affected villages in Cheyyar taluk received Mr. Arul at the prison entrance. Mr. Arul was among the 33 persons against whom a case was registered for protesting against SIPCOT in August last. Twenty-one persons, including Mr. Arul, were arrested on November 4 based on the case filed in August and seven of them were charged under the Goondas Act. While charges of the Goondas Act were dropped against six farmers on November 20 by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, the government refused to revoke the charges against Mr. Arul stating that he was not a farmer from Tiruvannamalai district.
As per the plan, 3,174 acres of land will be acquired from nine farming villages — Melma, Narmapallam, Kurumbur, Thethurai, Nedungal, Athi, Vada Alapirandan, Veerampakkam and Ilaneerkundram — for the phase 3 project, which began over a decade back, in Anakavoor panchayat union.
