Tamil Nadu government today assured the Madras High Court that a proper probe would be launched into allegations of human sacrifice after a court-appointed one-member committee investigating the alleged granite mining scam in Madurai district unearthed skeletons.
The court had on September 11, 2014 appointed senior IAS officer U Sagayam as the Court-Commissioner to probe "irregularities" in granite mining, as alleged in a PIL by social activist "Traffic" Ramaswamy.
The issue took a new turn last week when some skeletons were exhumed from a burial ghat near Melur in Madurai district after Sagayam ordered digging of the sites where two mentally- challenged persons had been buried after alleged 'human sacrifice' by a granite company.
Under the circumstances, the state government submitted in the high court that it would treat the human sacrifice issue as a separate criminal case and that it would ensure a fair probe.
"There have been reports about bodies being found at the site. The Advocate-General assures the court that a proper action for investigation of the crime will be taken," a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T S Sivagnanam said when the matter came up for hearing.
Earlier, Sagayam's counsel V Suresh requested two more weeks for completing the report.
Granting the time, the judges directed the government to process a letter from the Madurai District Collector regarding additional amount claimed by the committee.
