“Operation Disarm”, carried out by a special police team constituted by Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu, led to the arrest of 2,500 rowdies across the state. More than 900 weapons, including three firearms, were seized. The raids were conducted on Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning.
The large-scale investigation, arrests and seizure of weapons followed the four beheadings that took place recently in Dindigul and Tirunelveli districts. The DGP in high-level meetings with police officers held at Madurai and Tirunelveli gave directions to investigate all murder cases that were even ten years old. He also called upon the officers to conduct routine raids at the residences and premises of known rowdies in these districts; additionally police officers were instructed to round up and arrest those people who may carry out retaliatory attacks, and to intensify night patrolling so as to prevent untoward incidents in the coming days.
Reportedly, a senior district superintendent of police who was present at the meeting said that the DGP was furious over the back-to-back murders in these districts and the resurgence of caste clashes that had dominated southern Tamil Nadu during the mid-1990s.
Sociologist and Professor at M Krishnan, who hails from Madurai, told IANS “Police have to take stringent action against those who take law into their hands. However, unless the issue of caste is not weeded out, this will reappear in one form or the other. While the present DMK government has had a good start, the awareness on the futility of fights over castes have to be inculcated in young minds and for that good education is very important. These youths who are involved in beheadings will not be allowed to be given any heroic receptions.”
As reported in The Hindu, Chief Minister MK Stalin has sanctioned the constitution of two special teams of police who are to handle rowdy elements in Chennai. The report also mentions that on Friday, September 24, Chennai Police Commissioner Shankar Jilwal briefed the media on 57 history-sheeters and 13 others involved different criminal cases who have been remanded by city police, from a list of 6,000 known rowdies out of which 717 were intercepted and questioned as part of “Operation Disarm”. Twenty weapons were also seized.
With inputs from IANS