Visually-challenged man recounts horror of assault by TN policemen
A visually-challenged man was allegedly beaten by three personnel of the Tamil Nadu police for filing a complaint against illegal sale of liquor near a government school in Pudukottai district.
Shankar, who runs an electric shop near the Government High School in Kavarapatti in Pudukottai, had called the police control room last week when he came to liquor being sold illegally near the school premises. When he failed to get a response on the first call, Shankar persistently called the police control room several times.
Abuses hurled
On March 16, Shankar was alone at home when three personnel of the Viralimai police station reached his home. “They came to my house around 9.15 am and asked if I was the one who had complained about the illegal liquor sale. As soon as I said yes, they started hurling abuses at me. I said I was doing my job and it would be fair if they also do their job,” Shankar shared while speaking to The Federal on Friday (March 18).
Shankar said the upset cops, namely Senthil Kumar, Prabhu and Ashok Kumar, put him in a police jeep and took him to the Viralimalai police station. They allegedly assaulted Shankar in the police vehicle. “They asked me if I am Gandhi or Subash Chandra Bose to stop the illegal sale of liquor. I said, I am a mechanic and I did not want the the bootleggers to have a bad impact on school children. That’s when I got my first slap,” Shankar recalled.
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Shankar said he was not taken inside the police station, but was beaten up on the police station premises. “They told me they don’t want to stain the police station by letting me in. So, they asked me to sit near the tree inside the police station compound,” he said.
“They thrashed me from all sides. Since I cannot see, I did not know whether it was a police lathi or something else. The beating went on for some time. I do not remember for how long. When I almost lost consciousness, they lifted me and threw me outside the police station premises,” Shankar said.
Cops suspended
He was admitted to the government hospital in the district by a passer-by and the matter was then brought to the notice of Central Zone IG Balakrishnan, who in turn ordered an inquiry into the matter. District Superintendent of Police Nisha Parthiban suspended the three policemen, Senthil Kumar, Prabhu and Ashok Kumar on March 17 and filed a case against all the three under sections 342 (wrongful confinement) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) of Indian Penal Code. The probe is on.
