Chennai: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has disapproved of the arrest of a Canada-based student hailing from Tamil Nadu, Lois Sofia, for raising anti-BJP government slogans on board a flight in which then BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan was a co-passenger in 2018. The Commission has ordered payment of a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to her father Samy, who filed a petition before it, and directed that the money be recovered from the police personnel who arrested her.
Sofia was on a Thoothukudi bound flight from Chennai when she chanced upon co-passenger Tamilisai (now Governor of Telangana) when the aircraft landed and raised slogans against the BJP-led Central Government. This had led to an argument with the BJP leader and on a complaint from party functionaries the police arrested Sofia.
Questioning her arrest and subsequent judicial custody, her father moved the SHRC accusing the police officers of torturing her and causing deep mental agony to her. He argued that her arrest was in violation of the directives of the Supreme Court.
The accused police officers, however, countered saying she had caused nuisance by shouting at a co-passenger as well as creating a scene in a high security zone – the airport.
Holding that her arrest, for the charges levelled against her, was not essential, SHRC Member D Jayachandran said the police had arrested her without following the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court. Therefore he ordered that a compensation of Rs 2 lakh be paid to her father. The amount should be recovered from seven police personnel at the rate of Rs 50,000 from one of them and Rs 25,000 each from the six others, the SHRC said.
