Maneka Gandhi gave a wake-up call to the city police officials
Union minister Maneka Gandhi
Chennai: Union minister Maneka Gandhi gave a wake-up call to the city police officials in the small hours of Thursday morning, directing them to take action against two policemen who were reportedly unable to stop a mob who attacked the Madras Pinjirapole shelter house and took away five camels that were undergoing treatment.
The union minister called ADGP (Law and order) T K Rajendran at 1.30 am after she received information from members of People for Cattle of India about the possibility of camel slaughter. She informed the ADGP that both K. Manickam, DSP of Uthukkottai, and M. Jayasubhramanyam , AC of Otteri had failed to look into the welfare of the animals and should be taken to task immediately.
“This is a serious issue where all animal rights are violated and where the police officials are supposed to act according to the law seem to have been hand-in-hand with the mob that had no right to take the camels from the shelter house,” Gandhi said, talking to DC on the phone. Meanwhile, K.Manickam said that the mob was large in number and they were unable to control it or safeguard the camels, which activists allege were heading for the slaughter house on the occasion of Bakrid.
The incident happened at around 8:30 p.m. when the shelter house manager received a call from the police station stating that the five camels housed with them had to be released and produced before the Uthukkottai magistrate.
"The police officers who arrived at the spot asked us to hand over the camels to them immediately as they had to produce them in the munsif court by Sept. 23. We objected since the time to produce the animals had passed and there was no point taking them in the night," said an official at the shelter house who witnessed the whole incident that went on till 4 am.
According to the veterinary doctor at the shelter, the animals were extremely weak, under treatment and unfit for transportation. Dr S.Kavitha said when the camels were being taken away, three of the five were still bleeding.
Meanwhile, around 9.30 pm, a group of 300-odd people armed with sticks and knives reportedly broke the gate and entered the shelter demanding that the camels be released.
"The situation was out of control and police officials asked us to go to the underground basement. The tussle turned violent as one of them even manhandled an employee," the shelter official added.
All the five camels were then boarded into trucks by 4 in the morning by the mob and taken away. Till Thursday evening, neither the police nor the shelter officials were able to confirm the location of the camels.
Police refuse to register FIR for camel trafficking:
The Saidapet police reportedly refused to register an FIR on a complaint filed by the general manager of Blue Cross of India, Dawn Williams, against camel trafficking. "On Thursday morning at 2 am, a camel which was brought on foot from another state to Chennai collapsed in front of Saidapet police station. Public informed me and I filed a police complaint for cruel transportation without a medical fitness certificate," Williams told DC. The animal was old, dehydrated, sick, injured and famished, he said.
Though the police accepted the complaint, the officer in-charge failed to provide even a community service register slip, Williams said. A group of nearly 30 persons gheraoed the police station demanding that the camel be released to them. "When I asked, the officer, Kothandaraman, to confiscate the animal, he asked me whether I had any high court order which asks the police to confiscate camels," said Williams.
With more people thronging the station demanding the camel's release, the animal was released to the crowd by the police. Officer Kothandaraman or other Saidapet station police officers could not be reached for a comment. "We will be taking up this issue before the high court," Williams added.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
