Kerala police officer leads lathi charge, becomes internet sensation

The News Minute| March 18, 2015| 2.00 pm ISTWhat happens when video clips of a Kerala police officer leading a lathi charge against hartal supporters go viral? Well, the officer in question becomes a social media phenomenon and gets a fan base, at least in this case.Aluva Rural SP Yathish Chandra was in the news for caning LDF men who had called for a hartal last Saturday, protesting KM Mani’s budget presentation and ruckus in the assembly. As soon the videos were shared among social media users, a Facebook page popped up called “Yathish Chandra Fans”.The Facebook page has more than 11,000 likes now.That’s not the only one. Another Facebook page called “I Support Yathish Chandra IPS” has received more than 6,000 likes.Social commentator and activist BRP Bhaskar condemned the pages and called the tendency to laud an officer who used violence worrisome. He wrote on March 15, “When a police officer who employed force in excess of what the situation demanded can attract more than 3,500 fans on Facebook in a matter of hours, it is not difficult to understand why this literate state, God's own country, is where it is.”Replying to such criticism, “Yathish Chandra Fans” replied, “This is a Facebook page to express everybody's view on Police Officer Yathish Chandra's action against anti-socials. We are not supporting the lathi charge against onlookers. We always respect the public, especially the elderly generation. We would like to clarify that we are not supporting Police men's atrocities, but their strong actions against anti-socials irrespective of Politics, Religion, Social Status.”“I Support Yathish Chandra IPS” admin wrote, “This is a page to support the officer and only those who appreciate him need to like the page. Why resort to abusing the page admin if you don’t like the page?”Pics courtesy- Yathish Chandra Supporters PageTweet