The summons sent to two Scheduled Caste farmers in Salem district by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has gone viral on social media after six months. The ED had mentioned the name of the caste in the summons.
C. Kannaiyan, 70, and his brother C. Krishnan, 62, residents of Ramanaickenpalayam, own 6.5 acres of farmland. There was a land dispute between the duo and a BJP functionary and nearby resident, Gunasekaran, and cases were pending in the courts.
Meanwhile, on June 22, 2023, Kannaiyan and Krishnan received a summons from the Enforcement Directorate office in Chennai. In the summons, the ED asked them to appear before the officials with necessary documents on July 5 regarding the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on a complaint received against them. In the address of the farmers, the ED had mentioned their caste.
After six months, the summons sent to the farmers was uploaded on social media, and went viral for the past two days. It had come under severe criticism as the farmers had meagre amount in their bank accounts.
Their lawyer, R. Selladurai, said, “on July 5, we went to the ED office, but the officials asked the duo only to come for the inquiry and refused to allow the lawyers. Even after we explained that the duo were unable to read or write, ED officials did not allow us. Following this, we lodged a complaint with the DGP office in Chennai against the officials for ill-treating us. After that, the farmers did not receive any summons from the ED, and there has been no action from the police on our complaint.”
