Citing the recent killings in Chennai, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition K Palaniswami has said that the state capital is “turning into a murder city with 18 murders in 20 days”.
However, Greater Chennai City Police Commissioner, Shankar Jiwal refuted the claim, saying that only 10 murders took place in the city, and of them four were due to personal enmity and six due to family disputes.
Palaniswami made this remark in the Chintadripet area of Chennai by BJP’s district leader K. Soon after the assassination of Balachander.
While the top police officer has every right to defend his force, the murder of Arumugham (36), a petty financier, on the busy Aminjikarai road in broad daylight was a shock. Four men chased the financier and put him to death.
The DMK government assumed office in May 2021 with a promise that the police would be tough and deal with the miscreants strictly.
However, with the increase in the number of murders in many parts of Tamil Nadu, the police force and the state administration seem to be coming to an end.
On May 26, the day the prime minister was arriving in the state, 55-year-old priest Lakshmanan was murdered by a three-member gang in Madurai while he was on his way to the temple.
This was another major setback for the Tamil Nadu Police, which forced the Director General of Police (DGP) to intervene in the matter. Acting swiftly, the police arrested the culprits who were close relatives of the deceased priest.
Meanwhile, in another embarrassment for the state police, there were two alleged custodial deaths in two separate incidents in Chennai and Mayiladuthurai on April 19 and 26.
In Chennai, Vignesh, a Scheduled Caste youth, was killed by the police on April 18 along with his partner Suresh in the police station on 19. Autopsy revealed that Vignesh had 13 injuries on his right leg and injury marks on face, arm, shoulder and chest. Police sub-inspector and constables have been arrested in the case.
Similarly, on April 26, Thangamani (46) died in Mayiladuthurai sub-jail. The police had arrested him on April 25 for making illegal liquor. The relatives of the deceased alleged that Thangamani was brutally tortured in the police station and he died in the sub-jail the next morning due to torture in the police station.
In January, two youths were murdered by a three-member gang in Chennai’s adjoining Chengalpattu district. Chengalpattu district is home to several major industries in Tamil Nadu, including international automobile manufacturers and software companies, and the brutal killings may undermine investor confidence.
Speaking to IANS, R Swaminathan, head of industrial relations at a large multinational company in Chengalpattu, said, “Any investor would be comfortable if the law and order situation is good, but after the murder of two youths and another murder of a kind. There has been an incident. Uneasiness in our management. It seems that the government is trying its best, but we need assurance that the police will deal strictly.”
Even as the killings have become routine and people are worried about the continuous killings, DGP C. Silendrababu told reporters on May 24 that the law and order situation in the state was well maintained.
The DGP said, “There is no incident of caste or communal clash in Tamil Nadu or firing or death due to spurious liquor in the state. So it’s very peaceful.”
Although, he admitted that illicit liquor was made in some parts of the state, the police have arrested many people who were involved in making illicit liquor.
While the DGP is claiming that there have been no caste-related killings in the state, four beheadings in 10 days during September 2021 sent chills down the spine of the people of South Tamil Nadu. All the killings were caste related and the DGP had to camp in Madurai and intervene to douse the violence that broke out after the incidents.
Speaking to IANS, C. Rajeev, director of the Center for Policy and Development Studies, a Chennai-based think-tank, said, “Back to back killings and custodial deaths have tarnished the image of Tamil Nadu Police and the Chief Minister. The in-charge should ensure that law and order is properly maintained for a safe and peaceful Tamil Nadu. No one should be allowed to take law into their own hands and if it is not handled now, the situation is grave and out of control. It will happen.”
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