- 2 days ago
A political showdown has erupted in Tamil Nadu over a custodial death in Nagercoil, where an under-trial prisoner accused in a gutkha scam died with multiple injuries.
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00:21Hello and welcome. Good evening. You're watching Super 6 here on India Today.
00:24I'm Akshita Nanda Gopal. Over the next half hour, over the next 30 minutes, I'll get you
00:27all the big stories coming in from the southern states. So what have we got in store for you
00:32today? We're going to be focusing on two big controversies playing out in Tamil Nadu. First,
00:37that of a custodial death that's taken place in Tamil Nadu, this time in Nagarkhol. Tamil Nadu's
00:43had its fair share of such incidents and now under the TVK government, the death of a man who was
00:49accused in the Kutka scam, who was in prison behind bars, allegedly being tortured to death, has led
00:55to questions really about a free run being given to authorities and no rule of law in prisons itself.
01:01We're going to be getting your details of crackdown by the TVK government, the politics that's playing
01:05out and what we know about what happened to this individual, to the accused. Also on the show,
01:12we'll get your details of another controversy, again something that we see far too often in
01:17Tamil Nadu around the HRNCE department. Allegations of brazen temple land loot. This has happened
01:24in the holy district of Parani. What exactly has taken place? Well, private parties have managed to
01:32capture about 1,000 crores of land and how did they do it? They managed to register the property.
01:38It's now been deemed as an illegal registration but I'll break down for you the details and why
01:42the TVK government is under fire on this particular issue as well. So those two big stories coming
01:48your way. But we will begin with a big update on Vijay's last film, Jaranayka.
02:24I am coming.
02:36so jan and i get all set for release on july 23rd that is the day when vijay's film which
02:43has
02:43faced hurdle after hurdle will release why is this a big deal well a couple of reasons really
02:48first this is going to be almost like a festival in tabernado you've got a double whammy of sorts
02:54first the fact that as you know he's called talapati uh and that makes him of course a superstar
02:59who's reigned over tamar cinema for the last three decades it's his last film so there's that emotion
03:04and now he is the chief minister which is why even the poster that was released by vijay on social
03:10media confirming the release date refers to him as the honorable chief minister of tabernado that's
03:16what makes this film unprecedented and the timing of its release because mind you the film was actually
03:21supposed to release in january it's been delayed by six months now with a certification also being
03:29given by the censor board but when you watch and if you're a vijay fan you're planning this big bash
03:34or planning to go and watch which is last film to celebrate his talapati legacy remember that it's
03:40been given an ace certificate along with a number of cuts cuts largely to do with political messaging
03:47like what you see on your screens in the trailer of tvk standing for talapati vetri kondan in the film
03:53some of those cuts have been made what are we hearing from our sources here's a look at really
04:00what the cbsc has ensured are removed from the film and how there's been endless delay finally the film
04:08is set to see the light of day
04:16after nearly seven months of delay legal battles and a shocking piracy controversy vijay's jananayagan
04:23has been cleared by the central board of film certification
04:29the tamirnath cm's final film before his full-fledged political journey has been granted
04:35an ace certificate but not without suffering a series of cuts
04:43according to details accessed by india today the cbfc has directed a total of 12 modifications
04:49which include muted dialogues altered visuals and deleted scenes the board has directed the makers to
04:57mute references to tvk and new india delete a scene showing the indian flag falling on the ground
05:03and mute the dialogue that translates to i will make india fall at my feet it has also asked makers
05:11to modify visuals of br ambedkar on a book cover and replace the dialogue ambedkar satam tvk satam
05:19among the other changes the cbfc has ordered the muting of two religious terms and removal of two
05:25cuss words further scenes showing a child being burned has been replaced and another showing a district
05:32collector's insignia being rolled down in a disrespectful manner has been deleted
05:39the cbfc's order does not specify the reasons for any of these changes in all the film has undergone 20
05:46seconds of deletions and 10 seconds of replacements and its final run time has been locked at three
05:53hours and three minutes the certification however ends a turbulent journey for the film submitted in
05:59december last year for a planned bungal release jananayagan remained stuck in the certification process
06:05prompting the producers to move the madras high court and later the supreme court the controversy
06:11deepened in april after an uncertified hd copy leaked online reportedly drawing over 1.2 crore views
06:19before being blocked as per sources jananayagan is now expected to hit theaters on july 24th and is
06:26likely to be screened in around one thousand theaters across tamirnad the project has commanded
06:34unprecedented attention for months now and with the cbfc's cuts the conversation around cinema
06:41politics and censorship is likely to continue well beyond the film's release bureau report india today
06:57so some references of tvk of new india will not be a part of the film but also remember that
07:03this
07:03was a film that was supposed to be released before the elections when vijay was still campaigning
07:08to win the elections and so it's going to be loaded with political innuendo there's no doubt about it
07:14very clearly there was a lot of symbolism that you can see even in the trailer indicating towards his
07:20party towards tvk towards even the party flag which is why that reference of the two elephants
07:24promote madhu is joining us live from chennai with more details on this promote uh you know finally
07:30the film is going to release jan and i again the makers have waited for so many months now that
07:37i'm sure
07:37they're going to pull all stops come july 23rd what are you picking up on really what kind of a
07:43release
07:44we're going to see am i exaggerating when i say this is going to be a festival
07:50certainly not uh akshita this is going to definitely be a festival because like several
07:53free vijay fans have already stated that they are pongal that it was supposed to start on 14th of
07:58or in january only comes when jan is going to be released so 23rd is going to be the pongal
08:03for them
08:03this particular month and very clearly they've been waiting for a long time in fact even though one
08:06you know we got reports that 1.2 crore people have watched a movie quite a lot of ardent vijay
08:11fans have
08:12not watched the movie they are still waiting for a movie release on in theater so that's the kind
08:16of like fan following and now being a chief minister vijay has also been waiting for this movie because
08:21this is going to be his last movie that's what he said if he's going to act in another movie
08:24or not
08:25we don't know for yet because right now he's completely occupied with the role as being the
08:29chief minister of tamirnadu so this is going to be an absolute celebration for the fans and all the
08:33people of the state of tamirnadu akshita for obvious reasons he's very very connected to uh this
08:39particular film promote uh but i remember that in the last seven months through all of the hurdles
08:45controversy delays even his political rivals chose to speak out about it calling it a conspiracy
08:50chief minister vijay however remained very very quiet and today the release of the poster was
08:56done by whom by him on a profile that's not very active nowadays of actor vijay
09:03actually is and the important aspect is that like now he's the chief minister of tamirnadu he's been
09:07very you know very busy even today for the day he had met with the home minister of kerala ramesh
09:11nidala and quite a lot of events and programs are continuously happening but to his heart this is
09:15a very important movie as him you know coming from that particular uh field as well and just like you
09:20mentioned quite a lot of conspiracy spun around this particular movie in fact even though he's been
09:24quiet on this matter it was other vajna was not quiet he completely claimed that it is the opposition
09:29parties right now that was behind the release of this movie and the case is still pending quite a lot
09:33of
09:33people have been arrested as well and imagine for this particular movie alone 1.2 crore people have
09:38been reportedly watched the movie yet and still there is a huge fan base and people still waiting
09:42to watch the movie in the theater sakshita so you know on one hand you've got uh mudala major vijay
09:48chief minister vijay and that avatar and then you have talapati vijay so you know people who are
09:53diehard vijay fans are going to watch the movie those who are curious now about the superstar turned
09:58chief minister will also want to watch the movie and in that sense you're right janina again is headed
10:03to sure short success promote you have plans to watch the film i hope you haven't seen the leaked
10:10version the movie's name is janan na again well i will i will simply say that the movie's name is
10:15janana again which means he's supposed to be the one who's supposed to you know correct democracy in
10:20a form of democratization or something like that so definitely it's a movie that we are going to watch and
10:24i'm pretty sure we are going to have more discussions about this movies and the scenes
10:28in it especially him holding a whip and you know lashing the uh politicians and such and quite a
10:33lot of things that he said in the movie apparently he also has spoken in karur and other places where
10:37he wants to make i mean make tamirnadu corruption free and such so it's pretty sure that we are going
10:43to watch the movie i just hope while we may be covering it as you predict promote which i suspect
10:48is
10:49true it's not a controversy anymore we've seen enough controversy over janina again it's finally been
10:54cleared for release i hope that happens without any hurdles and smoothly in tabernado thanks very
10:59much for both uh like you said we're going to have a lot of conversations going forward
11:03about janina again july 23rd d-date next thursday is when the film releases
11:11okay let's move on and focus on the big story coming in from tabernado and this is on the political
11:17showdown over unfortunately another custodial death this happens far too often in tabernado and with the tvk
11:24coming in there was a lot of talk of revamp of the system of change not really it's the same
11:29old
11:30issues this time in nagarkoin in a prison shabari varman who was serving a sentence as the accused in
11:37the gutka scam has been allegedly tortured to death why do i say allegedly because the investigation is
11:42still underway but the post-mortem report has confirmed 19 injuries now the tvk government has
11:48promised action action has been taken against several officials including the warden of the prison
11:54let's get you more details in this report
12:02another custodial torture and death has left tamil nadu shaken
12:08sabari varman a specially abled man from kanya kumari was arrested by the police on july 9th
12:14on allegations of selling illegal gutka after undergoing a medical examination he was
12:20lodged as an under trial prisoner at the nagarkoil sub jail days later he was found dead inside the jail
12:27as the investigation gathers pace disturbing details are emerging
12:32the post-mortem report paints a grim picture according to the post-mortem report sabri varman
12:38suffered multiple abrasions and bruises across his body the report also noted a fracture in his right
12:45arm injuries to his right leg and left ankle and abrasions on the left side of his chest and left
12:52elbow
12:53head injuries were also documented investigators are now expected to match these injuries with the
12:59available evidence as part of the ongoing probe the death has now snowballed into a major political
13:15flashpoint dmk and bjp have cornered the tvk government on states law and order situation
13:45we saw the number of custodial deaths which happened in the dmk
13:48dmk's period there were a lot of reasons why the dmk's government fell and all those reasons which
13:53the dmk government was ultimately met their demise for is now started to happen in the tvk within the
14:00first three months itself let it be uh custodial deaths or let it be corruption let it be temple
14:07lands being looted we are seeing all of that happening with the tvk already and this is not a good
14:12sign for
14:12government for sabri verman's family the question of how he was killed remain unanswered and for
14:20tamil nadu yet another custodial death has revived painful memories of past tragedies and renewed calls
14:26for accountability this isn't the only controversy currently plaguing the tvk a 100 crore temple land
14:46controversy has erupted in parini the parini hills is considered to be sacred uh because this is
14:51considered to be lord murga's abode the state government is alleged that protected temple land
14:56was illegally registered in the name of private individuals the government has cracked down they're
15:01saying this is a racket we're going after including the sub-registrar being taken into custody the
15:06opposition is questioning how the registration happened to the first place the indications is and
15:11if you look at the timeline there's far too many coincidences for this to just be a one-off
15:16which is why the opposition is constantly saying that something seems fishy here and that it's not
15:22a question of just the sub-registrar what is the timeline i'm referring to the fact is that this was
15:27a land that the court refused to sell and yet the people who were after buying this particular land
15:33tweaked the order and went on a day to go ahead and register the property when the sub-registrar had
15:38changed in the week how did they know these details far too efficient how did they pull off the scam
15:42let's get you all of those details a prime piece of land a hundred crore rupees valuation and now
15:51allegations of a massive temple land scam the tamil naru temple department has launched legal and
15:57criminal action after 1.4 acres belonging to the palani temple was allegedly registered in the names of
16:04private individuals the government has called it a mistake and sought cancellation of the registration
16:11suspended the sub-registrar put the document on hold and filed complaints against officials the document
16:18writer and the buyers an FIR has been registered
16:39the
16:39the
16:39the
16:39the
16:58According to the temple department, the land was donated to the Mutt through an 1888 charitable
17:03endowment making it non-transferable.
17:06The land's ownership has also been upheld by the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court.
17:12Meanwhile, the registration department has said it cannot cancel a deed once it has been registered.
17:20Politics has also erupted with the BJP slamming the government's explanation calling it nonsense.
17:27Today everything is on your system, everything is online, you just enter in basic details and then you get everything.
17:32How can 100 crore worth land be registered without going through the basic papers, documents and all that?
17:38So these are all excuses which are being made by the TVK to get rid of accountability.
17:44With the deed under challenge, an FIR registered and political temperatures rising,
17:50the investigation will now determine whether this was an administrative lapse
17:54or a well-planned attempt to grab protected temple land.
17:58With Pramod Madhav, Bureau Report, India Today.
18:05Now there's a larger question being asked here.
18:07Yes, this has been a recurring problem in Tamil Nadu with the HR and CE department always in the spotlight
18:12over one controversy or another.
18:14But it's also an issue that must be addressed across the country.
18:18Why am I saying that?
18:19Well, we know of currently the Ram Mandir controversy already, but that's not the only one.
18:25We've seen so many with these major temples being involved.
18:28So let's take a look at that as well.
18:31At the number of such controversies plaguing temples and some of the most famous temples in the country.
18:36Like I said, there's the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, where an investigation is underway into the looting of donations to
18:45the temple.
18:46It's been confirmed that, yes, there has been a scam.
18:49What is the level, the depth of the scam is something that is still being investigated
18:53because cash, gold and jewelry were siphoned off.
18:56And again, there were questions about who was involved in this kind of a scam,
19:01whether higher ups gave the blessings for this kind of brazen loot to take place at the Ram Mandir.
19:07Eight people have been arrested. The SIT probe is underway.
19:10But it's not just a question of the Ram Mandir.
19:12Like I said, this is an issue in almost every big temple of the country.
19:16It's been plagued by one controversy or the other.
19:18Badrinath, Uttarakhand, a temple employee was also accused of theft.
19:24Investigations are underway to see if that employee acted on their own.
19:28But this is unfortunately a recurring theme in so many of these temples.
19:33Now, cash, gold and silver was allegedly stolen by this temple employee.
19:39And so, like I said, it's not a question of just one temple.
19:42It's so many more.
19:44At this point, the FIRE has been filed and SIT is investigating.
19:48Let's take you to the next temple as well.
19:51Shabrimala.
19:51In the last two years, there's been a controversy playing out of gold misappropriation.
19:58And these allegations have come to the fore even as there are very clearly powerful names who are involved.
20:04Why am I saying that?
20:05The investigation itself has thrown up some of these names of leaders who are heading the Deva Swim board as
20:11well.
20:11This is huge.
20:13Over 4.5 kgs of gold is reportedly missing.
20:17Essentially, carvings of the idols right outside the Sanctum Sanctorum was reportedly replaced.
20:23And so, a lot of that gold who has stolen is still being investigated.
20:29Multiple arrests have taken place.
20:30Some of the most high-profile individuals in Kerala have been questioned in this particular scam.
20:35It was, of course, a big political talking point as well.
20:37And now you have this incident in Parani of Tamil Nadu.
20:41The abode of Lord Muruga.
20:42Where also, while this land controversy is playing out, previously too, it's been in the news.
20:48Why?
20:49Because temple jewellery.
20:50This is far too common in most temples in the country.
20:53The temple jewellery will just go missing, will vanish.
20:57And obviously, involved there are some of the individuals who work in the temple.
21:02In this case, gold ornaments, silver, the silver veil, which is Lord Muruga's weapon.
21:08That was stolen as well.
21:10And so, there was an investigation that was launched into this particular case.
21:14The police is looking into this case as well.
21:18So, so many temples across the country.
21:20Tirupati Balaji in Andhra Pradesh.
21:23Again, same thing.
21:24The TTD has been facing fire because of theft allegations that have come to the fore, because
21:30of impure ghee allegations that have come to the fore.
21:33Now, gold and cash threats, thefts were under the scanner here in Tirumala Tirupati as well.
21:40Now, the investigation is underway.
21:42A CID probe is taking place.
21:44There have been arrests also made, including some of the priests who were part of the counting process, who were
21:49nabbed.
21:50So, as we get you all of these details that are coming in of different temples facing the same problem
21:57in Tamil Nadu,
21:58this has become a big controversy, including questions about the HR and CE department and how they function.
22:04Let's cut across to breaking news coming in.
22:10Now, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay will be participating in Kerala's anti-drug drive.
22:17This has been confirmed by the Kerala government after the Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chani Tala made a visit to
22:24Chennai and met with Chief Minister Vijay.
22:26Now, the Kerala government says that their anti-drug campaign, it's called Operation Tufan, has gotten the support of Chief
22:33Minister Vijay
22:34and that he has said that he will participate in an event along with superstar Mohan Lal.
22:47Okay, so every time in Tamil Nadu, you face a situation where you have to pay a bribe, where there
22:55are attempts to seek a bribe from you,
22:57you can dial this one number, 9898180936.
23:03Just dial this number if you're in Tamil Nadu and want to report a case of bribery.
23:07This is the latest initiative taken up by the Tamil Nadu government, by the Vijay government,
23:11hoping to achieve a new step of ensuring that anyone can report any attempts to take bribes, particularly by government
23:20officials.
23:20This is the newly launched anti-bribery helpline.
23:23Over the past two months, the Vijay-led government has been unveiling one initiative after another.
23:28They've been talking about revamping the government structure on this front, reforms in TASMAC, removing illegal holdings.
23:34The government has been ticking off many of its poor promises.
23:37The focus now is on bribery.
23:40And this is a pet project of sorts of Chief Minister Vijay.
23:42Every speech he speaks about corruption says, no matter what, do not offer one rupee.
23:48And so at such a time, they've announced this particular helpline.
23:51But let's be very, very clear that it is also battling allegations of its own, involving its own members.
23:57The BJP posted a shocking video showing allegedly a TVK functionary accepting a bribe.
24:03The TVK leader rejected the allegations, dismissing the claims as baseless.
24:08But clearly, that is a concern for the TVK as well.
24:13That politics, unfortunately, has been seeped in corruption.
24:16To clean it up also is a challenge.
24:19On paper, this sounds like a welcome move.
24:21It's a welcome step, let's be very clear about it.
24:23But this is only the beginning.
24:25The real success will depend on how quickly complaints are acted upon
24:28and whether people's confidence is gained that action truly is happening.
24:34Yes, it's a powerful tool against corruption.
24:36Yes, there's a lot of messaging involved.
24:38But hopefully, it's not just another helpline on paper.
24:45That's all we have time for in this edition of Super 6.
24:48Thanks very much for tuning in.
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