From,

Sandhya Ravishankar 24
September 2018
Independent Journalist
New no: 92, Old no: 42A,
7th Avenue, Ashok Nagar,
Chennai – 600 083

To,
Thiru AK Viswanathan
Commissioner of Police
Chennai

Respected Sir,

SUB: VIOLATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PRIVACY BY

AN ONLINE PORTAL IN COLLUSION WITH SOME MEMBERS OF
POLICE FORCE

I am Sandhya Ravishankar, independent journalist residing in Ashok

Nagar, Chennai at the address aforementioned and I have been writing
about illegal beach sand mining for the past five years. I have also been
writing a number of investigative articles which have invited accolades
from readers and senior journalists.

I had previously lodged a complaint with your esteemed self on 11

September 2017 regarding the incident of my bike being photographed
by an unknown person, as a sequence of events attempting to intimidate
and harass me, following my exposes on illegal beach sand mining in the
state.

The latest incident is one of a clear violation of my Constitutional right to

privacy. It amounts to stalking and harassment under the law as well. On
27 August 2018, an online portal called www.savukkuonline.com has
published a blog titled “Kolamaavu Sandhya” and has made defamatory
and untrue allegations about me. Apart from that, the site has uploaded
some CCTV footage of me meeting a source at a coffee shop. By itself the
visuals are not damaging in any manner but the fact remains that this is
a gross violation and infringement of my right to privacy, which the
Honourable Supreme Court has recently upheld as a fundamental right
available to every citizen of India.

The blog URL is: https://www.savukkuonline.com/15291/

The CCTV footage has been uploaded on YouTube and embedded in the
blog. The URL of the video in YouTube is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Pb2GKywDCcY
The coffee shop from which the CCTV footage has been taken is called
Anokhi and is situated on Chamiers Road, Nandanam. It is a coffee shop
that I frequent and meet a number of sources and contacts at the venue.
I have spoken to the owners of Anokhi Ms Kiran Rao and her partner Ms
Mathangi who have assured me that they do not download any of the
CCTV footage unless the police asks for the same.

It is therefore evident that ‘Savukku’ has received the CCTV footage from
the police. Who that police personnel is and why he/she handed over the
footage to ‘Savukku’ so that they may publish the same on their site,
remains a mystery.

Sir I also have strong reason to believe that a senior IPS officer is
colluding with the mining mafia in order to follow me, film and
photograph me – this same officer is the one who had informed a senior
journalist with a mainstream English daily in Chennai that I am being
followed and had allegedly even shown photographs of me taken without
my knowledge or consent to the senior journalist in question.

It is frightening that a senior officer can abuse the power of his uniform
in this fashion to target and malign a citizen at the behest of the powerful
beach sand miners in the state. If those who are meant to protect,
instead attack the citizens illegally, who do the citizens turn to for help?

Sir, my fundamental right to privacy guaranteed to me by the

Constitution of India has been grossly violated repeatedly. My
Constitutional right to occupation too has been repeatedly violated and I
am being subjected to attacks from various fronts by powerful vested
interests who wish to intimidate me and prevent me from carrying out
my duty as a journalist.

As you are aware, from the previous complaints lodged with your
predecessor and with you, there is a continuous effort to put me under
surveillance, harass and attempt to intimidate me in an effort to force me
to stop my investigative reporting on illegal beach sand mining.

I am listing out below a brief gist of the various complaints that I have
filed on the issue.

30 January 2017: Filed first complaint with then Chennai city

Commissioner of Police S George about the associates of VV Mineral, a
powerful beach sand mining company, divulging my mobile number on
social media, following which I received rape threats. A complaint
numbered 435/CCB/2017 was lodged.

14 March 2017: Lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police

again. An email from one Niyas Ahmad, an associate of VV Mineral, was
sent to Tamil magazine group Vikatan in objection to an interview that
they had published with the then Tirunelveli Collector Mr Karunagaran.
Although the email is apparently an objection letter, Ahmad states that “5
detective agencies have been hired by Mr Vaikundarajan” to follow and
videograph me. Apart from this Ahmad claims that I have been
demanding a bribe of Rs 200 crores from S Vaikundarajan (owner of VV
Mineral) and that I am “pimping” for some officers. He states that
Vaikundarajan has a video of me “smoking” and “plotting” with an officer
in a coffee shop to “bring down Mr Vaikundarajan.”(This appears to be
a reference to the CCTV footage put out by ‘Savukku’)

20 March 2017: Submitted an exhaustive complaint to both Tamil Nadu

DGP TK Rajendran as well as Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan. The
complaint was forwarded by the DGP for action to the Commissioner of
Police as well.

11 September 2017: Lodged a complaint with Chennai city

Commissioner of Police AK Viswanathan, stating that there was a threat
to my life. In that complaint I wrote – “I am writing to bring to your
notice a strange incident that a lady working as a housemaid at my
residence informed me about. Around Wednesday or Thursday (06 or 07
September 2017), she arrived early to work at around 5am, rather than
the usual 6am. On this day, she has informed me that she watched an
unknown person stop his bike near my bike (which is parked outside my
residence) and take two photographs – one of the registration
number/licence plate and the other of the bike itself.”

Sir I am deeply concerned and anguished that no action has been taken
or progress made on any of the complaints so far.

Violation of Constitutional rights by members of the police force

themselves is a matter of alarm.

I request you to take stringent action against ‘Savukku’ and its owner Mr
Shankar for brazenly and deliberately violating my fundamental right to
privacy as a citizen of India with malafide intent. I have also attached
screenshots of the ‘Savukku’ Twitter handle that warns of more videos to
be published in the future. I request you to kindly ensure that my right to
privacy is protected in letter and spirit.

I also request you to launch an investigation into who gave the CCTV
footage to ‘Savukku’ and the stringent action be taken against the police
officer concerned. I would also request you to kindly forward my
complaint to the necessary authorities to initiate departmental action
against the senior police officer who is colluding with the miners in an
effort to malign and harass a woman journalist.

I sincerely hope that this complaint will be acted upon as there has been
no progress in any of my complaints last year. As a journalist I should be
able to discharge my duties without fear in my own state.

Thanking you.

Sincerely,

Sandhya Ravishankar

M: +91-95660 20005
E: sandhya@thelede.co.in