Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, who was appointed by the Madras High Court to head the one-man commission to probe the Vengaivayal case — where human faeces were found mixed in an overhead tank that supplied drinking water to Scheduled Caste residents — held a second meeting with the district officials here on Wednesday to ascertain the progress of investigation.
The retired judge later told journalists that the investigation being carried out by the CB-CID was satisfactory and he did not see the need for CBI intervention at this stage. “The CB-CID has taken DNA tests, blood samples and voice tests and has sent them to forensic labs for results, only after which a final report can be submitted. Normally, forensic labs will go by seniority basis. Since it is a sensitive case, they might expedite the results. We can proceed further only after getting all the scientific evidence,” he said.
So far, the CB-CID has examined 156 witnesses, and is yet to examine 50 more. The CBI is also likely to follow the same manner of investigation.
The district administration is also effectively supplying water from Eraiyur to Vengaivayal to prevent contamination, Mr. Sathyanarayanan said.
On the next course of action, Mr. Sathyanarayanan said: “For further inquiry, I have sought a report from the district administration on the pump operator’s duties and responsibilities to check if there were any lapses. We are also awaiting the report from the CB-CID.”
He further said there were no plans to meet the people of Vengaivayal village until the report on the scientific evidence was obtained.
Asked about the reason for delay in the investigation by the Commission, he said outer timeline cannot be fixed for cognisable offences under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Though the one-man commission is expected to complete its inquiry and submit its report to the Madras High Court by July 6, an extension of time may be sought, he added.
Collector I.S. Mercy Ramya; Superintendent of Police Vandita Pandey; Crime Branch-CID Deputy Superintendent of Police Palpandi and others were present in the meeting.
