CHENNAI: Senior station-level officials have begun a preliminary inquiry into an allegation that a police patrol team behaved in a high-handed manner with an activist who questioned the officials for parking the vehicle in the middle of the road in Iyyappanthangal.

The incident happened around 11.30 am on Wednesday when ‘Citizen’ Senthil, a civic activist there, spotted a patrol vehicle attached to the SRMC police station parked on the middle of Oil Mill Road. The officials reportedly told him that they had to go to a bank nearby and parked the vehicle on the road as there was no flow of traffic on the stretch at that time.

Senthil told them they were not setting the right example for the public, and noted how the vehicle stationed there was affecting road visibility for other motorists. He then pointed out the ample space available on the road margin and asked them to move the patrol vehicle there.

The activist alleged that the officials then turned aggressive, asking him what his problem was and even started using disrespectful words. They even tried to intimidate him by threatening to book him and drag him to the police station, Senthil alleged.

Aggrieved by this, Senthil lodged a complaint with the higher-ups. Sources said the senior officials at the police station have started making inquiries to find out what exactly happened.