Hours after videos of policemen allegedly committing arson in the backdrop of the crackdown on Jallikattu protesters went viral, Chennai Police Commissioner S George denied charges levelled against the department.
In the first video, which has been shared extensively on social media and particularly Whatsapp, a man in khakhi is seen walking up to an autorickshaw and throwing a burning bundle into it. The Chennai commissioner, however, dismissed the recording, terming it “ridiculous”.
“We must look into the hidden motive behind this video,” stated the commissioner. “The video will be probed by the multimedia department,” he added. He claimed that the videos had been morphed.
A senior journalist from News18 had told The News Minute that the video was shot from RK Salai in Chennai around 5 pm.
However, this was not the only video that had surfaced on social media. Videos of police damaging vehicles at Marina and another one from Coimbatore are also doing rounds.
The commissioner when questioned about the reported police violence against peaceful agitators, claimed that aggression was only employed against anti-social elements.
“Over 4,000 people dispersed from the site of protest after police assured them that the ordinance would provide a permanent solution,” the top cop said.
“After the students stopped protesting, a group of anti-social elements displayed resistance. Several of them began pelting stones at the police, following which minimum force was used.”
The Chennai top cop claimed that the department had received intelligence reports on the integration of anti-social elements into what began as a students’ movement. Following this police have arrested “40 miscreants who were instigated by vested interests”, he added.
Re-emphasising that the police were cracking down on anti-social elements and not students, the commissioner said that forces will remain deployed at Marina and several other parts of the city on Tuesday.
Seven thousand policemen are currently on duty in the city and 1,000 sub-inspectors who are on probation have also been monitoring the situation. As a final warning, he stated that any incidence of sporadic violence will be dealt with firmly.
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