5 months ago
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It was a uncommon publication launch. Selvam, the writer of Oru Thooku Kaithiyin Vaakumoolam (Testimony of a Death Convict), was erstwhile condemned to decease for a murder. The decease sentences handed to him and his friends, Radhakrishnan and Shiekmeeran, were aboriginal commuted to beingness imprisonment by the President, connected the information that they walk the remainder of their lives down bars. With peculiar support from situation authorities, Selvam was allowed to measurement retired concisely to be the motorboat of his publication successful Chennai connected Saturday. The beingness of Selvam’s woman Jenila and his lad among the assemblage lent a interaction of poignancy to the event. Selvam’s written code was work retired astatine the event.
Justice K. Chandru, retired justice of the Madras High Court, who wrote the foreword, released the publication and writer Meeran Moideen received the archetypal copy. Badri Seshadri of Kizhakku Pathipagam, who was arrested 2 years agone for his comments against the judiciary, had a accidental brushwood with Selvam successful the Tiruchi jailhouse and went connected to people the book.
Justice Chandru said helium work the publication successful a azygous sitting and decided to constitute the foreword due to the fact that Selvam had written the truth. “I checked the publication to spot whether helium had recorded the information that inmates are segregated based connected their caste and lodged unneurotic successful the cells of Palayamkottai prison. He has so recorded it,” said Justice Chandru, who has delivered judgments connected jailhouse reforms. He said the situation strategy should beryllium a reformative and not a retributive justness system. He called upon the radical to constitute letters to the authorities successful enactment of Selvam.
The gripping book, which could rival immoderate transgression thriller, goes acold beyond Selvam’s idiosyncratic communicative and his 31 years successful prison. It provides a elaborate relationship of the turf wars that engulfed Kanniyakumari territory successful the precocious 1980s. From its pages emerges a transformed Selvam — a reformed prisoner, a skilled cook, a voracious reader, an Right To Information (RTI) Act activist, and an adept connected situation rules, regulations, and judgments relating to decease and beingness sentences.
“Destroying a chap quality being is simply a cruel act. How does it hap to a antheral to destruct different antheral who was similar him successful soma and blood?” Selvam writes. “It happens due to the fact that of time, vengeance, ignorance, anger, brutal feelings, and greed for onshore and gold.” He penned these lines connected a nighttime erstwhile helium and his friends discovered their names were missing from the database of prisoners whose decease sentences had been commuted to beingness imprisonment by the President successful 2010.
In different profoundly idiosyncratic reflection, Selvam dwells connected the interaction of his destiny connected his family: “How volition Jenila, who depends solely connected me, pb her life? How volition my children gain their livelihood? Whom volition my beloved Dutto (son) kick to erstwhile Jenila slaps him? Will his tendency to slumber holding my manus spell unfulfilled?”
A autochthonal of Therkuthamaraikulam, Selvam mightiness different person led a mean life. His beingness took a melodramatic crook aft helium moved to Puthukudiyiruppu, a feared territory successful the territory — often likened to Sicily. It was said a idiosyncratic nether onslaught could flight harm simply by claiming to beryllium from Puthukudiyiruppu. Many of the gangsters progressive successful turf wars and revenge killings hailed from there, often joined by notorious criminals from elsewhere successful Godfather-style executions. They carried sickles and country-made bombs alternatively than modern weapons. There were betrayals, and the constabulary often pitted 1 pack against another, eliminating targeted gangsters. Only constabulary records tin uncover however galore lives were mislaid during this convulsive chapter.
Writing astir the deaths of 2 large gangsters — Lingam, who was killed wrong the Nagercoil sub-jail, and Sahul Hameed — Selvam said they had violated the unwritten instrumentality of sparring the household members of rival gangs who had nary portion successful the conflict.
Selvam has spent clip successful astir each cardinal prisons successful Tamil Nadu, perpetually questioning authorities astir prisoners’ rights and seeking details done applications filed nether the RTI Act. He knows each jailhouse superintendent and warden, however galore prisoners dice each year, and the profiles of each notorious gangsters crossed the State. “Although a beingness condemnation is often presented arsenic a humane alternate to the decease penalty, it is successful information 1 of the cruellest punishments successful the world,” writes Selvam, who kissed his lad earlier heading backmost to the Vellore prison.
