COIMBATORE: The additional deputy superintendent of police,
Tirupur
, Pandiarajan was caught
slapping
and lathicharging a woman when a crowd of residents from Samalapuram blocked the car of Sulur MLA
R Kangaraj
on Tuesday afternoon. The crowd was protesting against shifting of a
Tasmac
liquor shop from the highway to their area.
On Tuesday, about 100 residents of Samalapuram staged a protest against the setting up of a Tasmac shop in the area, following the Supreme Court order to remove all
liquor
shops within 500 metre of highways. The crowd were said to be protesting in a peaceful manner.
“When Sulur MLA R Kanagaraj’s car passed by the area, the residents blocked it. The additional deputy superintendent of police, Tirupur, Pandiarajan, was on the spot, and he immediately ordered a lathicharge,” said a mediaperson from Coimbatore who sustained a head injury during the attack.
TV footage showed Pandiarajan slapping a woman and hitting her with a lathi. He also tried to stop reporters from recording the incident.
Watch the video “He ordered the police personnel to attack everyone on the road. Even passersby were attacked,” said the cameraman of a vernacular new channel. Four mediapersons from Coimbatore have sustained injuries.
The residents of Samalapuram plan to file a case against Pandirajan in a Palladam court on Wednesday.
People in several areas in the district have been protesting against shifting of Tasmac shops to residential areas. In Karambanur village near Mettupalayam, the residents came to know of construction of a new Tasmac shop and staged a protest on Tuesday. The residents staged a road roko and demanded removal of the shop from the area.
In a similar protest, resident of Ganapathy demanded the removal of the Tasmac shop that was being shifted from the national highway near the Saravanampatti police station to the road that leads to Keeranatham village.
Protests erupted in Periyanaickenpalayam, Singanallur and many other areas in Coimbatore.
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