Man moves HC seeking release of son's body

A man has moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to authorities to release the body of his son, who was killed in police firing during the anti-Sterlite protest on May 22.

A vacation bench of Justices T Ravindran and P Velmurugan allowed the petitioner S Balaiah to implead himself as a party to the litigation which is pending before the court.

It posted the matter for further hearing to May 30.

According to the petitioner, his son had gone to draw cash from the ATM near the Tuticorin collectorate without knowing that the anti-sterlite agitation was on and died in the police firing.

His son was not involved in the protest but victim of police firing only by reason of being at the wrong place at the wrong time unaware of the agitation, he submitted.

The authorities refused to handover over his son's body because of the court's interim order on preserving the bodies of the victims until further orders, the petitioner said.

He sought a direction to authorities for handing over the body to perform the last rites.