Dinakaran attack

Last updated

The Dinakaran attack was a firebomb attack by M. K. Alagiri's supporters [1] on 9 May 2007 on the Madurai office of Dinakaran , a Tamil language newspaper, which resulted in the deaths of three people. [2] The attack was a response to a survey published by Dinakaran on who people preferred as the future heir of M. Karunanidhi, chief of the political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). During mass protests throughout the region, the offices of the newspaper were firebombed and two press employees and a private security guard died. 17 people were charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, but were all acquitted by the district court. Dayanidhi Maran resigned from the Union Cabinet, where he had been the minister for communications and information technology, as a result of the controversy surrounding the attack, which created a rift between him and DMK.

Contents

Background

M. K. Stalin and M. K. Azhagiri, sons of the DMK chief Karunanidhi, were in a succession battle to be his political heir. In May 2007, Dinakaran caused controversy when it published the results of a series of opinion polls conducted by A.C. Nielsen Co. which appeared to show that Stalin had more public approval than his elder brother Azhagiri – 70% of those polled preferred Stalin, while only 2% preferred Azhagiri (another 2% supported M. K. Kanimozhi, daughter of Karunanidhi). [2] [3] The newspaper is part of the Sun Group which is owned by Kalanidhi Maran, who is a grand-nephew of Karunanidhi and brother of the DMK politician and ex-Union minister Dayanidhi Maran.

Incident

On 9 May 2007, agitated by the results of the survey, DMK cadres in the southern district of Tamil Nadu, particularly the supporters of Azhagiri, engaged in protests at Kamuthi, Dindigul, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Tuticorin and various places in the Theni district. [4] At Madurai, they protested by burning copies of the newspapers and raising slogans against the survey and the Maran brothers. They also held a road block protest, threw stones and set seven buses on fire. [5] Anticipating trouble, a team of anti-riot police under the deputy superintendent of Madurai were deployed outside the offices of the media group. Despite the police presence, a group of men hurled stones at the building housing the offices of Dinakaran, Sun TV and Tamil Murasu , all belonging to Sun Group. They also threw petrol bombs and set the building on fire, resulting in the death by asphyxiation of two employees and a private security guard. [3]

The staff of the newspaper blocked the Chennai Madurai highway, demanding the arrest of Azhagiri, accusing him of responsibility for the incident. [3] They also accused the police of inaction. [6] Superintendent T. S. Anbu said there was no deliberate dereliction of duty by the police, but the Director General of Police, D. Mukharjee, later admitted dereliction of duty by policemen and ordered a probe be conducted by a senior police official. [7]

Aftermath

Kalanidhi Maran, managing director of Sun Networks, called this incident an "attack on freedom of the press", and vowed to fight for justice. [8] M. Karunanidhi condemned the attack, calling it "an attack on democracy and press freedom", and promised legal action. On the issue of political heirs, he said that "there is no place for dynastic succession in the DMK". [9] He later told the Tamil Nadu Assembly that he was puzzled by the timing of the survey, and had told the Dinakaran management that such polls may create unnecessary problems, but that the newspaper had ignored his advice. [10] Several journalists' associations condemned the attack and submitted a memorandum calling for immediate police action, [11] urging the government to bring charges against not only the assailants but also "the persons behind the conspiracy". [12]

Maran, who is usually present along with Karunanidhi on most party functions, stayed away from the celebration of Karunanidhi's 50th year as a legislator, which was attended by Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. DMK's administrative committee suggested that Maran be removed from the Union Cabinet for violating party discipline. Maran, however, resigned voluntarily, insisting that he had never taken part in anti-party activities and that someone was misleading the party chief. [10]

Kalaignar TV, a new channel owned by the Karunanidhi family, was launched as a potential rival to Sun TV when the tensions between Karunanidhi and the Maran brothers were at their height. [13] The government also announced the formation of Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited, a new multiple-system operator, which was intended to end the monopoly of Sun Cable Vision.[ citation needed ] In December 2008, the Marans made peace with the Karunanidhi family. [14]

Court proceedings

The management of Dinakaran accused the police of ignoring their formal complaint, which specifically sought action against Azhagiri, and instead chose to act on a suo motu complaint which did not include his name. [15]

On 16 May 2009, police arrested their prime suspect, P. Pandi (aka "Attack" Pandi), who later confessed to spearheading the attack. [16] The case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation, [7] which named 17 accused in a 32-page charge sheet, including a deputy superintendent charged with dereliction of duty. [17] In December 2009, all 17 were acquitted by the district sessions court, [18] which claimed that the case had not been proven beyond all reasonable doubt. In March 2011, the Madras High Court allowed an appeal challenging this decision, despite a delay in filing the same. The CBI contended that the trial court "ought to have considered the evidentiary value of Prosecution Witness 1", even though he had "turned hostile" during the proceedings. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam</span> Political party in India

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is an Indian political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it is currently the ruling party, and the union territory of Puducherry, where it is currently the main opposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Karunanidhi</span> Indian writer and politician (1924–2018)

Muthuvel Karunanidhi was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He is popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Artist) and Mutthamizh Arignar for his contributions to Tamil literature. He had the longest intermittent tenure as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu with 6,863 days in office. He was also a long-standing leader of the Dravidian movement and ten-time president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party. Karunanidhi has the record of never losing an election to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, having won 13 times since his first victory in 1957. Before entering politics, he worked in the Tamil film industry as a screenwriter. He also made contributions to Tamil literature, having written stories, plays, novels, and a multiple-volume memoir. Karunanidhi died on 7 August 2018 at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai after a series of prolonged, age-related illnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattali Makkal Katchi</span> Indian political party

Pattali Makkal Katchi is a party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyar caste in northern Tamil Nadu. It is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It contests the elections with the "Ripe Mango" symbol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayanidhi Maran</span> Indian politician

Dayanidhi Murasoli Maran is an Indian politician and one of the prominent members of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party. He was elected four times as a Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency during the 2004 general elections, 2009 general elections, 2019 general elections and 2024 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. R. Baalu</span> Indian politician

Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, better known as T. R. Baalu, is an Indian politician. He is currently the MP of Lok Sabha of the Sriperumbudur constituency, elected seven times since 1996 from Chennai South and Sriperumbudur. He is a leader of the DMK party and is known for his political loyalty, having been in the party since 1957. He is now the Treasurer of DMK, elected unopposed on 3 September 2020. He earlier served as the Principal Secretary of the DMK Party from August 2018 to January 2020.

Dinakaran is a Tamil daily newspaper distributed in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded by K. P. Kandasamy in 1977 and is currently owned by media conglomerate Sun Group's Sun Network. Dinakaran is the second largest circulated Tamil daily in India after Dina Thanthi as of 2015. It is printed in 12 cities across India. Dinakaran was founded in 1977 by K. P. Kandasamy after he split from Dina Thanthi owned by his father-in-law S. P. Adithanar during the split of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In 2005, the newspaper was acquired from K. P. K. Kumaran by Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murasoli Maran</span> Indian politician

Murasoli Maran was an Indian politician and an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party which was headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for 36 years, he was made a Union Minister in three separate central governments, in charge of Urban Development in the V.P. Singh government, Industry in the Gowda and Gujral governments, and finally Commerce and Industry under Vajpayee. Apart from being a politician, Maran was a journalist and scriptwriter for films too.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. Raja</span> Indian politician (born 1963)

Andimuthu Raja is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu, who serves as Member of Parliament for the Nilgiris constituency and the deputy general secretary of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu and had been elected to house four times since 1996. Raja is an advocate by profession and he did his master's degree from Government Law College in Tiruchirappalli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controversy over arrests in Tamil Nadu about construction of flyovers</span>

On 30 June 2001, M. Karunanidhi, the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu was arrested along with the minister of commerce and industry of the Republic of India Murasoli Maran and the minister of environment and forests of the Republic of India T. R. Baalu. This event marked the first incident in the history of independent India in which ministers of the Republic of India were arrested. The incident began when the seventy-eight-year-old former chief minister was forcibly taken from his residence located in Gopalapuram, Chennai. Within hours, the images of the arrest were broadcast on Sun TV and other network stations. Footage shown on Jaya TV shows him continuously resisting arrest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. K. Alagiri</span> Indian politician (born 1951)

Muthuvel Karunanidhi Alagiri, commonly known as M. K. Alagiri, is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu and was a Union Cabinet Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers from 28 May 2009 to 20 March 2013. He is the second son of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi and his second wife Dayalu Ammal and the head of South Zone of Dravida Munnetra Kazagham.

Dravidian parties include an array of regional political parties in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, which trace their origins and ideologies either directly or indirectly to the Justice Party and the Dravidian movement of C. Natesanar and Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. The Dravidian movement was based on the linguistic divide in India, where most of the Northern Indian, Eastern Indian and Western Indian languages are classified as Indo-Aryan, whereas the South Indian languages are classified as Dravidian. Dravidian politics has developed by associating itself to the Dravidian community. The original goal of Dravidian politics was to achieve social equality, but it later championed the cause of ending the domination of North India over the politics and economy of the South Indian province known as Madras Presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu</span>

The 2009 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu was held for 39 seats in the state. There was a radical change in the alliances in this election compared to the last election, reminiscent of the 1999 election in Tamil Nadu. In this election the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) decided to stay with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), but the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the left parties decided to ally itself with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the newly formed Third Front named United National Progressive Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaduvetti Guru</span> Former Politician from Tamil Nadu, India

Kaduvetti Guru, also known as J. Guru, was an Indian politician, who was twice elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu. He was the president of a caste organisation, the Vanniyar Sangam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayanidhi Azhagiri</span> Indian cinema producer

Dhayanidhi Azhagiri is an Indian Tamil cinema producer and distributor. He is the owner of the Cloud Nine Movies banner. His grandfather was M. Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. His father is M. K. Alagiri, the former Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election</span> Election to the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu

The Fourteenth Legislative Assembly Election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members from 234 constituencies in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Results were released on 13 May 2011. Two major parties Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) faced the election as coalitions of multiple political parties: DMK front consisted of 8 parties and the AIADMK of 11 parties. Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which had contested the previous elections independently, allied with the AIADMK coalition. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam boycotted the election following a disagreement with Jayalalithaa over seat-sharing. The outgoing Karunanidhi government was noted for the construction of new assembly building in Chennai, execution of various developmental projects, and implementation of programmes including free health care for the poor and issuance of a range of freebies such as color television to all. However, these were heavily overshadowed by other major issues such as incessant power cuts in households and industries, excessive sand mining, increasing prices of essential items, 2G spectrum case and undue influence of Karunanidhi's extended family in various aspects of Tamil politics and business and even media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Group</span> Indian media conglomerate

Sun Group is an Indian media conglomerate, based in Chennai. It was founded by Kalanithi Maran in 1992. Sun Group, besides television media, has 48 FM radio stations, two daily newspapers, five magazines, a DTH satellite service and T20 cricket franchises.

The Karunanidhi family are an Indian political family who have had considerable influence in the politics and cinema of Tamil Nadu. The most notable member of the family was M. Karunanidhi who was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for five terms and was the DMK party leader from 1969 till 2018.

The granite scam was a corruption scandal that occurred in Tamil Nadu, India. It gained notoriety after former civil servant of Madurai Ubagarampillai Sagayam wrote a letter to the chief secretary of the State Industries Department on 19 May 2012, reporting major violations by many granite quarries in the Madurai district, estimating a loss of more than sixteen thousand crore rupees to the state exchequer.

R. Sivaraman was an Indian politician and a Member of the Legislative Assembly. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) candidate from Tiruppattur (194) constituency in the 1996 election.

P. Pandi, also known as "Attack" Pandi, is a gangster from the Madurai area of Tamil Nadu, India. He was an aide to former Union Minister M.K. Alagiri. He has at least 20 cases filed against him. He was leader of the Dinakaran attack in 2007, and the murderer of "Pottu" Suresh. He was sentenced to life in prison for that crime.

References

  1. ↑ "Three newspaper employees killed in arson attack in Tamil Nadu state". Reporters Without Borders. 10 May 2007. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
    - S. S. Jeevan (21 May 2007). "M.Karunanidhi's 50 years were on the cost of Tamil daily Dinakaran". India Today . Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 "3 people killed in Dinakaran attack". The Times of India . Press Trust of India (PTI). 9 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 S. Vijay Kumar (10 May 2007). "3 killed as newspaper office is set on fire". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "DMK activists set fire to Tamil daily office, 1 killed". The Times of India. PTI. 9 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "மதுரை தினகரன்-சன் டிவி அலுவலகம் மீது அழகிரி ஆதரவாளர்கள் பயங்கர தாக்குதல்:3 பேர் பலி- 7 பஸ்களுக்கு தீ வைப்பு". OneIndia (in Tamil). 9 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Police blamed for inaction". The Hindu. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  7. 1 2 S. Vijay Kumar (20 May 2007). "CBI takes over investigation into Dinakaran attack case". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Kalanidhi Maran to fight state, Centre for justice". The Times of India. PTI. 9 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Karunanidhi: no place for dynastic succession". The Hindu. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  10. 1 2 Subramanian, T.S. "Mayhem in Madurai". Frontline. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Journalists' fora to submit memorandum". The Hindu. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "Journalists mark protest against arson attack on Madurai newspaper office". The Hindu. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  13. ↑ D Govardan (14 June 2007). "Karunanidhi family owns New TV channel Kalaignar". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Marans patch up with Karunanidhi". The Hindu. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  15. ↑ S. Vijay Kumar (11 May 2007). "Police ignored our complaint, says Dinakaran". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "Prime suspect in Dinakaran office attack case held". The Hindu. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "16 chargesheeted in Dinakaran attack case". DNA India. 6 August 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "All acquitted in Dinakaran case". The Hindu. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  19. ↑ Mohamed Imranullah S. (14 March 2011). "Court condones delay in filing appeal in 'Dinakaran' attack case". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2013.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.