Shankar Jiwal assures Sagayam of security

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The Director-General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal assured that adequate security — depending on the threats, if any — will be provided to retired IAS officer U. Sagayam to enable him to testify in court without fear.

Mr. Sagayam, who was appointed as a special officer by the Madras High Court, unearthed a major granite mining scam. He was summoned last March by a Madurai special court in the illegal granite mining case during which he had said that he was unable to travel to Madurai to provide evidence in the aforesaid court due to security concerns. He had also stated that the withdrawal of security to him had been clearly biased, flawed and unfair.

In a statement, the DGP said that during the tenure of Mr. Sagayam as the Legal Commissioner to probe the irregularities in the illegal granite mining, he was provided with a Personal Security Officer from November 2, 2014 and the same continued till October, 2020. However, the Security Review Committee meeting, convened in 2020, decided that the security be withdrawn. But, it continued to be provided as per the High Court’s direction. Mr. Sagayam subsequently took voluntary retirement on January 2, 2021.

Based on the Security Review Committee meeting held on March 20, 2023, it was decided to withdraw the security provided to 22 individuals based on the current scenario. Thus, the security was withdrawn for Mr. Sagayam, since he was not facing any specific threat.

Subsequently, he submitted a representation addressed to the Chennai Commissioner of Police, dated May 30, 2023, requesting that the security be restored. However, the then DGP sent him a reply in December, 2023, stating that security was withdrawn based on the committee’s decision.