Residents of Sencherimalai near Sulur assaulted a police official on Monday, when he attempted to stop their protests against a TASMAC outlet.
The tension began in the morning, when customers to the bar attached to the local TASMAC picked up a fight with the owners. In the backdrop of the recent closure of several liquor outlets following the SC order, the owners were allegedly trying to overcharge the customers. What began as an arguments, soon became a brawl, with the bar owners assaulting those who came to buy alcohol.
Residents who got wind of the altercation soon came onto the roads and held a demonstration against the outlet. A sub inspector who noticed the commotion attempted to clear the crowd. The angry crowd then allegedly assaulted the police official, following which more police officers were deployed to disperse the mob.
This agitation comes a day after residents of Lakshmipuram in Tiruvallur district protested against the TASMAC in their village. They alleged that the ban had caused tipplers from Ponneri, where liquor outlets were closed, to flood their area, creating a public nuisance.
Such protests have erupted across Tamil Nadu after the SC banned the sale of liquor within a 500m radius of state and national highways from April 1. According to media reports, nearly 50 to 80% of liquor shops have been shut across the State after the Supreme Court order. This has reportedly led to serpentine queues and stampede-like situation in outlets that remain open in the state, forcing police to intervene and manage the crowd.