Political leaders slam police lathicharge on villagers in Tirunelveli district

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday criticised police for showing bias and falsely filing cases against people based on their community.

In a statement, the former chief minister expressed concern about reports of locals from nine village panchayats protesting false cases being imposed by Thevarkulam police in Tirunelveli district based on caste and several people getting injured due to lathicharge.

“The principle of ‘all are equal before law’ should be realised by the police who are responsible for upholding the law,” Palaniswami said.

He urged chief minister M K Stalin to examine the nature of cases, withdraw false cases and issue an order against filing cases based on community anywhere in the state.

The members of a Thevar outfit and locals tried to lay siege to the Thevarkulam police on Wednesday, claiming that the officers were showing bias towards a specific community. The group organised a road roko protest, leading the police to lathicharge to disperse the protesters.

MDMK chief Vaiko demanded that a thorough probe be ordered into the previous wrongdoings of the policemen at the Theverkulam police station. The policemen, who used lathis on the people, should be transferred immediately and the tension in the area should be defused, he said. He urged senior police officials to resolve the conflict between the police and the public at an early stage.

AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran termed the lathicharge on people as the height of anarchy. He demanded that the state govt investigate the police personnel and withdraw the false cases.