Stalin demands probe into man's death who helped Sagayam panel

DMK Treasurer M K Stalin today demanded a probe into the road accident death of an aero-modelling expert, who assisted court appointed Legal Commissioner U Sagayam in aerial survey of granite quarries in Madurai District as part of his probe into illegal mining.
"It is shocking to hear that S Parthasarathy who was assisting Sagayam committee in video graphing illegal granite quarrying died in a car accident under suspicious circumstances," he said in a statement here.
Parthasarathy assisted the Sagayam Committee appointed by Madra High Court in its surveying exercise by videographing the areas hit by alleged illegal quarrying using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

According to police, the 54-year-old man died on the spot after he lost control of his car and hit a roadside tree.
Stating that the committee had "received threats in many forms from the day one of its probe,", Stalin said Sagayam should be allowed to probe the scam without fear or intimidation.
"We hope the High Court will ensure that the government provides adequate protection to the committee members and ensure that an impartial investigation is conducted (by the government) into the death of Parthasarathy."
The high court in September last year had appointed Sagayam as the Special Officer/Legal Commissioner to go into alleged illegal mining of granite and submit a report.

Sagayam as the then District Collector of Madurai had in 2011 pegged loss to the exchequer on account of illegal mining at around Rs 16,000 crore over a period of several years.