Video: Law college violence: Chennai Police chief, JCP shifted

Watch Video of Law college violence: Chennai Police chief, JCP shifted

Video: Law college violence: Chennai Police chief, JCP shifted

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday transferred Chennai Police Commissioner R Sekar and another senior police officier besides suspending two more officials following allegations of police inaction in the face brutal violence at Ambedkar Law college in Chennai.

The merciless beating up of students belonging to one group by those drawn from another right under the nose of the police set off a storm in political parties which condemned the incident and demanded in the State Assembly action against the erring police officials.

Besides Sekar, who has been replaced by Additional Director General of Police (Civil Supplies) K Radhakrishnan, Abhay Kumar Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police (North) under whose jurisdiction the violence occurred, was shunted out and posted as DIG, Railways.

The government also suspended ACP Narayanamurthy, and Inspector Sekar Babu in the wake of the clash between students belonging to two groups at the college on Wednesday.

A K Viswanathan, Joint Director, Vigilance, has been posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Chennai City, and he would also hold the additional charge as JCP (North Zone), the release said.

The violence was triggered by pasting of posters hailing nationalist leader late Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar. The other group was protesting non-inclusion of B R Ambedkar’s name and photograph in the posters.

The police inaction in the face of prevailing tension in the college campus for the last one week came in for sharp criticism in Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday.

The government, while suspending the principal of the college, Sridev, had ordered closure of all law colleges in the State, besides postponing the ongoing semester examinations saying there was “no cordial atmosphere to conduct them,” the statement said.

Law Minister Duraimurugan informed the Assembly that a judicial probe by retired judge of the Madras High Court K Shanmugam had been ordered.

Condemning the absence of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi when the issue was raised in the Assembly, AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa demanded his resignation owning moral responsiblity as he was also the Home minister. She also alleged television channels, which telecast the violence, were being threatened by him.

She demanded the dismissal of principal and police officers who were present during the violence.

Jayalalithaa dismissed the judicial probe ordered by the government as an “eye wash.”

Congress, Left parties and PMK also condemned the incident and demanded action against erring officials.

Meanwhile, The Madras High Court on Thursday said it expected the print and electronic media to act with restraint and publish or telecast further coverage of Wednesday’s clash between two groups of the law college students in such a manner not to further aggravate the situation.