In a shocking incident outside the Directorate General of Police in Chennai, two policemen allegedly attempted suicide by dousing themselves in kerosene on Wednesday.
Visuals emerging from outside the DGP’s office, show police officers at the site attempting to control the two men in uniform. They can be seen pouring water on one policeman. Other visuals show a police officer standing with his colleagues when he suddenly pops open a can of kerosene and pours it on himself even as fellow policemen push the can out of his hands and pin him to the ground.
The two officers, Raghu and Ganesh, reportedly belong to the firearms unit of the police personnel in Theni district. According to media reports, they had come to the DGP office to submit a petition alleging caste-based discrimination they face in their unit, especially when it came to transfer of posts. They allege that the senior officers in the department paid no heed to the issue.
The suicide attempt reportedly took place after they submitted the petition and walked out.
The Mylapore police has reportedly taken them in for questioning.
Earlier this month, Arun Raj, a constable attached to the armed reserve police reportedly shot himself while on guard duty at former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s memorial in Chennai.
Arun Raj’s colleagues suddenly heard the sound of gunfire close to 5 am and when they went to investigate they found him dead. He was reportedly lying in a pool of blood after having shot himself in the neck. It is unclear if it was a suicide or an accidental shooting. He was rushed to the closest government hospital, where a post mortem was conducted. The body has been handed over to the family.
In oral observation on March 8, Justice Kirubakaran slammed the government for not setting up a police commission for addressing the grievances of police officers in the state. Justice Kirubakaran reportedly asked, “Do you know what will be the fate of Tamil Nadu, if all police personnel go on strike for an hour? Working round the clock for 24 hours, 365 days a year, police personnel need adequate rest. It was due to work pressure and depression, they either quit the job or commit suicide.”