By The People (2005) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Rajan joins By the People because the system he trusted completely betrayed him. After he gathered evidence against minister Paramasivam, his own superiors sabotaged him, he was attacked, his pregnant wife was murdered, and the crucial videotape was lost. When he was reassigned to jail and saw the original four imprisoned, he realized the only way to achieve justice was to work outside the corrupted legal system. His role as advisor allows him to continue fighting corruption through the very group he was once sent to dismantle.

• rajan mathew
• by the people
• betrayal
• corruption
• justice

Rajan's final plan involves releasing the imprisoned members of By the People from jail. He frees them while working as Jail Superintendent, allowing them to infiltrate the Portugal cultural festival venue incognito. They carry out the assassination at point-blank range and then return to their cells before anyone realizes they were gone. The escape is portrayed as Rajan using his position strategically, enabling a trace-free operation that leaves no evidence of their departure.

• prison escape
• assassination
• paramasivam
• rajan
• portugal festival

The videotape surfaces when a junkyard owner finds it and hands it to the media, making the evidence public. However, the court refuses to accept it as legal evidence, leading to Paramasivam's acquittal. The film's narrative suggests the judicial system itself is compromised, allowing powerful figures like Paramasivam to escape accountability even when their crimes are exposed to the public.

• paramasivam acquitted
• videotape evidence
• court
• corruption
• media

Rajan's pregnant wife is murdered as part of the retaliation against him for attempting to expose the corrupt network. While the film doesn't explicitly name the individual perpetrator, it is framed as an act by the same forces Rajan was investigating, the corrupt system striking back at anyone who threatens the powerful figures like Paramasivam and their allies.

• rajan's wife
• murder
• pregnant
• revenge
• corruption

The four Pulse students launch an attack on Paramasivam at his vacation house intending to bomb him when he arrives. Their plan fails because they are trapped, and they are killed by security. Their action represents the escalating desperation and radicalization of the movement, willingness to sacrifice their lives to strike at the corrupt system, even without any chance of survival. This event marks a turning point that pushes Rajan to fully align with By the People.

• pulse students
• paramasivam
• suicide mission
• bombing
• sacrifice

Inspector Thomas, Rajan's corrupt former superior, is killed when a roller coaster he inaugurates goes off track. The death is orchestrated by By the People as part of their campaign against corrupt officials. This demonstrates the group's reach and willingness to strike at high-ranking figures within the corrupt chain of command, eliminating those who have protected the system.

• thomas
• roller coaster
• assassination
• by the people
• corrupt officer

Hariharji is a godman who is part of Paramasivam's corrupt network. Rajan records conversations between Hariharji, Paramasivam, and various tycoons to expose their dealings. This audio-visual evidence forms the backbone of Rajan's attempt to bring down the political-criminal-media nexus. Later, By the People target and kill Hariharji at a resort, viewing him as equally complicit in the systemic corruption.

• hariharji
• paramasivam
• godman
• corruption
• network
• evidence

Balan Nambiar investigates the Paramasivam assassination but finds the perpetrators back behind bars with no evidence they ever left their cells. He discovers they executed a trace-free operation thanks to Rajan's strategic planning. Rather than pursuing a case he knows he cannot prove in court, Balan chooses to let them go, recognizing that the justice system is too compromised to deliver accountability. He even praises Rajan's clever tactics, acknowledging that the corrupt cabal has been dismantled through extrajudicial means.

• balan nambiar
• rajan
• justice
• aquittal
• evidence
• ending

The movement forms after a brutal incident where a student commits suicide after being denied a study loan, and her tragedy is mocked by the bank manager who abetted the denial. This triggers the formation of Pulse, a college student group, which then inspires the more ruthless By the People faction, comprising a porter, auto driver, and one-legged member, who begin striking at corrupt figures, starting with that bank manager.

• student suicide
• by the people
• pulse
• bank manager
• corruption
• education loan

Rajan Mathew is reassigned to an administrative post after being involved in the killing of Vivek during the earlier clashes referenced in 4 the People. This transfer removes him from active police duty and places him in a bureaucratic role. Two years later, when By the People emerges, the police recall him to active service specifically to hunt down the new vigilante group, restoring his power but also drawing him back into the conflict.

• rajan mathew
• administrative post
• 4 the people
• vivek killing
• transfer

Kamini is captured while attempting to bomb Paramasivam during the rally planning phase. She is nabbed by authorities during the operation. After her capture, the group proceeds with their final plan to assassinate Paramasivam at the Portugal cultural festival without her. The film does not detail her ultimate fate, but her capture represents a significant loss for the By the People team.

• kamini
• captured
• bomb
• rally
• paramasivam
• by the people

After Rajan is attacked and his pregnant wife is murdered, the incriminating videotape recordings of Paramasivam, Hariharji, and other tycoons go missing. The film presents this as part of the systematic betrayal Rajan faces, his own superiors within the corrupted system ensure the evidence disappears, effectively protecting the powerful figures he was trying to expose. The tape only resurfaces much later when a junkyard owner finds it.

• videotape
• missing
• evidence
• rajan
• paramasivam
• betrayal