3 hired by Corporation detained over mistaken identity

According to sources, a patrol team from Vadapalani police station came across three men who were dismantling a bus shelter at Tirunagar. Under the impression that the men were trying to steal the alumnium pipes, the policemen arrested them around midnight on Monday. The labourers, Raboy, Habeebullah and Narayanan told the police that the Corporation junior engineer (JE) had directed them to dismantle the bus shelter as it was unauthorised. They also informed the police that they were instructed to carry out the task during the night to avoid inconvenience to the public. The workers also provided the JE’s mobile number to the police. 

The police tried to contact the junior engineer. However, junior engineer Kumaresan did not answer the call. The police had no other choice but to detain the three men at the station. The police even questioned the labourers regarding their involvement in theft cases that were reported under their jurisdiction.

The labourers vehemently maintained that they were not trying to steal the aluminium rods and were only carrying out the task set by the corporation. The policemen were not convinced and kept them at the station till Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Kumaresan saw the missed call on Tuesday morning and contacted the police. He informed them that the men were only carrying out his instructions. The aluminium bus shelter was built by a private NGO for advertising without taking permission from the corporation. Since the bus stand was constructed illegally, the Corporation had passed an order to dismantle it. Police later released the three workers. However, many news publications carried the story on Tuesday claiming that three men were arrested for trying to scavenge a bus shelter. The police claimed that the names of the three workers was unnecessarily sullied due to miscommunication. 

“It is a common practice to keep the police informed when such works are carried out by government departments. If we had been informed, the workers would have been spared the embarrassment,” a policeman said.