Cop slapping woman: Madras HC agrees to give urgent hearing on the issue

CHENNAI: A day after visuals of brutal police attack on unarmed women and anti-liquor shop protesters in Tiruppur district of went viral and rocked Tamil Nadu, the issue was taken to the notice of Madras high court on Wednesday.
A woman who attacked by additional deputy superintendent of police Pandiarajan on Tuesday suffered ear injuries, which might result in hearing loss.A man was rushed to hospital with head injuries.
Watch video of police slapping a woman
The first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, before which advocate K Balu and activist K R Traffic Ramaswamy mentioned the matter requesting urgent hearing, agreed to hear the matter at 2.15pm on Wednesday.
The issue relates to anti-liquor protests at Samalapuram near Coimbatore, and participants were opposing relocation of a Tasmac outlet in the locality. When they spotted Sulur MLA R Kanagaraj’s car coming that way, protesters blocked it. This infuriated a posse of policemen led by Pandiarajan, who ordered lathicharge on the peaceful protesters.
Video clippings of Pandiarajan going berserk and attacking passersby and then pushing and slapping a woman went viral. The woman is said to have suffered severe ear injury and might lose hearing ability in one ear. Following the unprovoked assault, activists and aggrieved locals were sitting on a fast at Samalapuram.
Besides political leaders like M K Stalin of DMK, the issue has triggered an avalanche of criticism against police and Pandiarajan on social media portals as well.
On Tuesday morning, Balu said Tasmac shops and bars were being removed and relocated pursuant to the Supreme Court ruling that no such entities should be permitted within 500 metres of national and state highways. Such relocation was being opposed by residents in more than 50 places in the state, he said.
He said a woman, identified as Eswari, was slapped and pushed by Pandiarajan, and a man, identified as Sivaganesan, too was injured. While Eswari might lose her hearing ability in one ear, Sivaganesan has head injuries. Both were not allowed to get admitted to a government hospital, Balu said, adding that they were now taking treatment in a private nursing home.
Besides providing proper medical attention to the two, the erring officer should be punished for the brutality, he said.
Referring to a November 16, 2016, Madras high court judgment which had categorically said that when people had gathered in front of liquor shops and expressed their displeasure over running of the shop in that placed, the court could not allow the shop to be run at the place, he said the police attack was against the judgment. Disregarding public opposition, authorities were opening liquor shops with police protection, he said.
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