In yet another shocking case of police brutality, a 30-year-old pregnant woman was killed after a traffic policeman kicked the two-wheeler she was riding on with her husband at Thuvakudi near Trichy on 8 March.
The deceased, Usha, was travelling with her husband on Wednesday evening when the incident occurred. The couple was near the BHEL headquarters when a police team asked them to stop.
When they did not stop, inspector Kamaraj chased them on another bike and after a short distance, kicked their vehicle. The bike then wobbled and the couple fell to the ground.
Usha sustained a head injury and died on the spot. She was three-months pregnant. Raja was also seriously injured. Kamaraj fled the scene when people began to gather at the spot.
The couple were taken to the government hospital in Thuvakudi where Usha was declared dead.
Following this, protests broke out at the spot of the incident, leading to traffic snarls on the Thanjavur-Trichy national highway for a few hours. Police officials had to visit the spot and pacify the agitators.
According to news reports, over 3,000 people gathered at the spot and agitated over the death. Angry protesters then began flinging stones at the police, who retaliated with a lathicharge forcing agitators to disperse temporarily.
Despite the police informing of the arrest they refused to disperse.
According to ToI, Kamaraj also got himself admitted to the hospital, claiming to have been injured. He has been arrested by the district police.
This is not the first time that police have exhibited violent behaviour in the pretense of maintaining law and order.
In November 2017, a shocking incident that was caught on camera, where a policeman in Kallupalam in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district whacked a bike rider with his lathi for not wearing a helmet and speeding past when asked to stop. The biker was grievously injured.
The incident has triggered much anger and people have taken to social media to register their protest.
(The story was originally published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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