No safety for public in DMK regime, police busy in public stunt: EPS

CHENNAI: AIADMK interim general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday criticised the DMK government that the law and order have deteriorated in the last 16 months, jeopardising the safety of the common man. He ridiculed the police department's ‘operation Minnal Rowdy Hunt’ and wondered about the rationale behind allowing more than 2,300 criminal elements, who have been secured during the 72-hour operation, to walk free, after obtaining an undertaking from them. He demanded Chief Minister MK Stalin take concrete measures to maintain the law and order to ensure the safety and security of the people.

The State police nabbed as many as 3,905 rowdies in 72 hours during the operation. Of them, 705 have been remanded, while the remaining 2,390 rowdies were allowed to go after giving undertakings, said EPS in a statement.

Calling it a “publicity stunt” by the ruling party ahead of assembly sessions, EPS said the police department has also played its part to stage such a stunt. There was news that rowdies have fled to the neighbouring states fearing police action.

When the people in Chennai were reading this news, the miscreant decamped with valuables from the ancestral house of the Inspector General of Police of North Zone on Monday. They broke open the house, destroyed the CCTV and took away the valuables along with the harddisk of the surveillance system in the house, he said and wondered how the anti-social elements who fled the state could strike within 24 hours.

The police department’s prime duty is to ensure the safety and security of the common man, he said and questioned whether the police kept the rowdy elements, who were let out after undertaking, under surveillance.

He slammed the DMK ministers as they were uncontrollable and said, “When I said M K Stalin was incapable chief minister, his supporters unleashed their anger. Now, the Chief Minister himself admitted that he was unable to control his cabinet colleagues.”