Tirupur slap incident: Political leaders condemn police brutality
Chennai: Leaders of all the opposition parties on Wednesday condemned the police brutality upon anti-liquor protesters, particularly the lathi-charge at Samalapuram in Tiruppur and urged the government to refrain from opening new tasmac liquor shops anywhere in the state. They also wanted the dismissal and arrest of ADSP Pandiarajan who had slapped a woman protester at Samalpuram on Tuesday and ordered a brutal lathi-charge on the peacefully agitating people there.
Video clips of the brutality of Pandiarajan and his colleagues in khakhi have gone viral, attracting all-round condemnation and a notice from the National Human Rights Commission to the state government and the director general of police. DMDK leader Vijayakanth demanded that the police officials should meet the affected people and seek apology from them. The state government should take action on ADSP Pandiarajan who ordered the lathicharge. CPM state secretary G.Ramakrishnan demanded the suspension of Pandiarajan and registering of criminal case against him.
Those arrested by the police should be released and the cases against them should be withdrawn he said. The police had brutally assaulted the people, causing injuries to youth and insulted women. He strongly condemned the state government's efforts to suppress the protests of people against the violation of Supreme Court order of closure of TASMAC shops, he said.
Expressing similar views, CPI State secretary R. Mutharasan demanded the dismissal of Pandiarajan from service and his arrest without delay. The police had brutally assaulted unarmed people protesting peacefully for a just reason. He also alleged that the state government is trying to open new TASMAC shops in a deceptive manner leading to resentment among the public.
PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss warned of people's revolution in the state if the state government tried to open TASMAC shops. The PMK would resort to legal and political struggle against such efforts by the state government, he said. The protests against liquor shops were being violently suppressed since the government is afraid that it would spread to all parts of the state, he said.
TMC leader G.K. Vasan requested the state government not to open new TASMAC shops instead of those closed along the highways. He also condemned the assault on mediapersons and people protesting against the new liquor shop. SDPI state president K.K.S.M. Tehelan Bhakavi demanded severe action on the ADSP and stop opening TASMAC shops in residential areas.
