Activist gets ‘cop’ calls after plaint lodged on illegal bar timings

The activist, G Devarajan, also said that he received abusive calls from the police and bar owners following one of his failed attempts to draw the attention of the police on a bar functioning in the morning hours on GNT Road. He added that the caller identified himself to be the sub inspector attached with the Madhavaram station.

Mentioning to have in possession the audio clip of the abusive call he received, Devarajan said, “During the conversation, the policeman was more interested in knowing about my whereabouts than the details of the bars which were functioning in the morning hours. Though the government stipulated timing for functioning of Tasmac bars is between 12 pm and 10 pm, at least three bars in Madhavaram function from the morning itself. I had earlier placed many complaints with the police. And whenever I do so, I used to get threatening calls from those people who runs the bars within minutes. It looks like the policemen themselves have started to call and abuse me, while the bars continue to function without any hurdle,” Devarajan said. The activist said that when he tried to check the abusive caller’s identity with an app, the name was displayed as ‘SI Ravi’.

Devarajan, in his complaint, has requested officials to identify the ‘policeman’ who had abused him and take action.

The Madras High Court has recently asked the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Madhavaram to look into the complaint of activist G Devarajan and dispose it within three weeks after enquiry. The order by a Bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad came after a writ petition by the activist.

In his petition submitted, the activist had said that he had made several representations to the police about the illegal working hours of Tasmac bars. “I have sent complaint to Tasmac and to the police with video proof. But no action has been taken,” Devarajan said in his petition and sought action against the errants who also allegedly sold liquor at rates above the fixed price. In the order, the High Court directed Devarajan to furnish the proof to the Madhavaram DCP, who will be conducting the enquiry.