"A Sorry Model Government": TVK Chief Slams DMK Over 'Custodial' Deaths
Actor-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay on Sunday led a massive protest in Chennai, seeking justice for Ajith Kumar, a private security guard who died in police custody due to alleged torture. The protest turned into a significant show of strength, drawing an estimated 12,000 supporters, with many traveling from various districts.
Vijay demanded a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged custodial death and criticised the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government for transferring the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Addressing the gathering, the TVK chief accused the state government of hiding behind central agencies. "When in opposition, MK Stalin had slammed the CBI probe in the Sathankulam case. What is this now? Why hide behind the CBI, which is a puppet of the BJP and RSS?" he asked.
The CBI officially took over the investigation on Saturday. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court also transferred the original jewellery theft complaint by a woman named Nikita - which had allegedly led to Ajith Kumar's illegal detention - to the CBI and directed the central agency to submit a final report by August 20.
Vijay said the Chief Minister should apologise to over 20 families who lost their lives during the DMK's four-year-rule just like he apologised to Ajith Kumar's family. "You apologised to Ajith's family. Apologise to others too and offer the same compensation," he said.
The protest was also attended by families of other victims of alleged custodial deaths, whom Vijay had met earlier. His remarks were sharply critical of the DMK regime, calling it a "Publicity Model-turned-Sorry Ma Model" government and accusing it of eroding law and order and leaving courts to intervene in every crisis - referring to cases ranging from the Anna University sexual assault matter to custodial deaths.
TVK functionaries noted that many more cadres would have joined had it not been for more traffic diversions. TVK worker Gobinath from Theni said: "The massive turnout shows that TVK is poised to win the 2026 elections and form the next government."
Vijay, the Chief Ministerial face of TVK, reiterated that he would not ally - directly or indirectly - with the Bharatiya Janata Party, rejecting overtures from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-BJP alliance.
In response, the ruling DMK said swift action was taken in the Ajith Kumar case. Five police personnel have been arrested, the Deputy Superintendent of Police was suspended, and the Sivaganga Superintendent of Police was placed under "compulsory wait".
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On June 24, the finance ministry's Department of Financial Services notified the following: The central government hereby cancels the appointment of A* [name withheld] as executive director, Union Bank of India, made vide Department of Financial Services' notification no 4/3/2023-BO.1 dated 27.03.2024, with immediate effect, by reverting him to his previous post, ie, general manager in Punjab & Sind Bank. Besides A, this notification was copied to the Reserve Bank of India governor, chairman of the State Bank of India, managing directors and chief executive officers of all public sector banks (PSBs), the chief executive of Indian Banks' Association, among others. We have seen many disciplinary actions against senior PSB officials. Investigative agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau hounding them for allegedly abetting frauds and/or tacitly supporting fraudsters, too, aren't unheard of. Instances of PSB chiefs being arrested and sent to Tihar Jail are also not rare. But this case appears unique. What exactly happened? Here is a reconstruction of what led to this action. I am just stating facts and not getting into who is right and who isn't. The story had begun much earlier, in the financial year 2016-17 (FY17), but the latest trigger for the action is a public interest litigation filed in the Delhi High Court in August 2024 (WP 11590/2024) by a woman employee of Punjab & Sind (P&S) Bank, challenging A's appointment. She raised a question: How could someone be appointed ED of a PSB without proper due diligence? Ahead of this, she had sought all relevant information about A's appointment as an ED under the Right to Information Act. I understand that she did not succeed in getting the information. Once the Delhi High Court started probing, the Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC) stepped in and denied vigilance clearance. The denial came after A's appointment — after he had been in the position of executive director for 14 months. This brings to light the role of the chief vigilance officer (CVO) and senior management of P&S Bank. In a bank, the CVO is responsible for overseeing the vigilance function, and ensuring ethical conduct and compliance with regulations. The CVO is the nodal point for interaction with the CVC and CBI. Typically, a bank's CVO focuses on preventive vigilance. In FY17, the woman [let's call her B], who was the chief manager at P&S Bank's PY Road branch in Indore, reported alleged irregularities and corruption by A, who was then the bank's central India zonal manager based in Bhopal. On December 14, 2017, B received a transfer order to Saraswan in Kundam tehsil, Jabalpur. Claiming that the transfer order was issued with 'mala fide intentions' and by an 'incompetent authority', she challenged it vide a writ petition (9048/2018) at the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Before that, in February 2018, B had approached the bank's management, accusing A of sexual harassment. After waiting for 11 months, she went to the Local Complaints Committee (LCC) on January 8, 2019. Such a committee is mandatory under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 — also referred to as the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act. The LCC addresses complaints of workplace harassment within the jurisdiction of a district. It has advisory and recommending powers, but limited enforcement authority. Any organisation that has 10 or more employees is bound by law to form an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), headed by a senior woman employee and with one external member as part of it. While the LCC proceedings were on, the bank formed an ICC in Delhi, where P&S Bank is headquartered. The ICC report, on February 26, 2019, gave A a clean chit. 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