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N Sathiya Moorthy in Chennai
A one-man judicial inquiry appointed by the Tamil Nadu government has said that opposition Dravida Munnetra Kzhagam cadres had tried to break into the office of the Director General of Police during their violence-ridden rally on August 12 last year, thus making the police action against them unavoidable.
The report of the Justice K Bhatavatsalam Commission, which was presented to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa earlier, was placed before the state assembly on Thursday.
The report said: "But for the police intervention, the DMK cadres could have set fire to the DGP office, as they did to a few vehicles on their way."
The police had to open fire to quell the mob only when other methods like water-canon, lathi-charge and tear-gassing failed.
Likewise, the report said, the processionists had provoked inmates of the Ayodhyakuppam slum on the Marina beach, leading to violent counter-attacks.
However, the report was evasive about one of the terms of reference, relating to the conduct of media personnel. With newsmen and their camera crew becoming victims, Justice Bhaktavatsalam said it was difficult to codify conduct rules for them on covering such incidents.
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