Gandhian activist: Anti-liquor crusader dies atop cell phone tower
Gandhian’s supporters, however, said Sasi Perumal had been brought down from the cell phone tower by tying a rope around his chest

Sasi Perumal
Kanyakumari: Noted Gandhian activist, Sasi Perumal died on Friday during a protest demanding the removal of a liquor shop near Marthandam in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district on Friday.
The 59-year-old Gandhian, who has been campaigning for total prohibition in the state for long as a lone crusader against its liquor policy, climbed on a 150 meter-tall cell phone tower demanding the immediate removal of the Tasmac liquor retail outlet at Unnamalaikadai in Marthandam area.
Having remained atop the tower in the scorching sun for a few hours, Sasi Perumal reportedly swooned, following which the fire and rescue services personnel brought him down and rushed him to a local hospital, where he was declared dead.
The Gandhian’s supporters, however, said Sasi Perumal had been brought down from the cell phone tower by tying a rope around his chest, which crushed his chest resulting in his death.
“It was because of this that blood oozed out from his mouth and nose,” complained his supporters. Other supporters also blamed the police of being tardy in their duty for not preventing the Gandhian from climbing the cell phone tower in the first place.
The police, however, brushed aside the allegations as completely baseless saying Sasi Perumal had taken the decision to climb the tower on the spot and many of his supporters were not aware of his plan either, which is why none of them had accompanied him to the top of the tower.
Friday's protest which claimed his life was part of the 1000-day long public protest against the Tasmac shop at Unnamalaik-adai town panchayat. The town panchayat president, Jeyaseelan has been leading this protest. Even the people obtained a court order in their favour against the Tasmac shop at Unnamalaikadai.
However, as the district administration remained indifferent in implementing the court order, Sasi Perumal came into the picture last month to join the protest. He had also threatened to launch a ‘fast unto death’ and offici-als had assured him that liquor shop would be removed from Unnamalaikadai. As the administration failed to keep up its promise to the public, Sasi Perumal resorted to this dangerous manner of protest that claimed his life.
Parties pained at Gandhian’s death; demand prohibition
The sudden, tragic death of Sasi Perumal actively advocating total prohibition on Friday in Tamil Nadu, came in handy for almost all opposition parties to tactically mount more pressure on the ruling AIADMK to reintroduce the dry law across the state “as a mark of recognising his sacrifice”.
Apart from the PMK and MDMK, both strong votaries of total prohibition, the BJP and other opposition parties, quickly joined the chorus against the government on this issue after 59-year old Sasi Perumal died of suspected heart failure in Kanyakumari district while staging a protest atop a mobile tower.
Sasi Perumal, it may be recalled, had staged a series of peaceful protests, including a 33-day long fast, in the past few years pressing for implementing prohibition in the state.
The PMK founder S Ramadoss and his son and party’s chief ministerial candidate, Anbumani Ramadoss, most vocal of the lot in calling for total prohibition, have expressed anguish over Sasi Perumal’s death. “He climbed atop a cell phone tower at Unnamalaikadai to protest non-implementation of a Court order that liquor shops near educational institutions should be removed. Had his demand been heeded and even one such shop removed, he could have been saved,” the senior Ramadoss said in a statement. “The true tributes to be paid to Sasiperumal will be the implementation of prohibition,” he said.
The BJP state President Tamilisai Soundararajan claimed that there were over 6,000 liquor shops in the state and around 1,000 of them located near educational institutions or temples and the Gandhian was opposing this. “Tamil Nadu government should immediately take note (of this incident) and implement prohibition which would be a recognition of his sacrifice,” she said. She also asked why police had not taken any preventive action despite him giving prior notice about today’s protest.
The CPI State Secretary R Mutharasan said that Sasi Perumal was steadfast in his demand for prohibition and that he had even fought by-elections making it his main plank. “We request the Tamil Nadu government to honour his sacrifice by implementing prohibition which was his objective,” he said.
The MDMK founder Vaiko, DK leader K Veeramani and TMMK President J S Ribbayee also expressed deep pain at Sasi Perumal’s death and demanded that the state government implement prohibition.
Most political parties in recent weeks have been clamouring that Tamil Nadu brings back the dry law, notwithstanding public finance experts doubting its feasibility on revenue grounds. The DMK of late took an assertive lead, declaring that the party, if voted to power in the 2016 Assembly elections, will take steps to reintroduce total prohibition. The Congress too has promised a new liquor policy after hearing out the affected people. The AIADMK on its part has also indicated through its party organ, ‘Namathu MGR’ that the Jayalalithaa government was striving for a ‘liquor-free’ Tamil Nadu. The debate continues.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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