Author: SV Badri
Publication:
Date: March 8, 2008
Having read the first hand report by Shri
Anjanasudan on the Police highhandedness on the 06th March, 2008, a group
of committed Hindus, under the leadership of Smt Radha Rajan ji decided to
meet with senior police officials in Chennai, to register our protest and
to seek their action on the personnel involved. The following is the report
on our meet with the Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai, Shri Nanjil
Kumaran. We could not meet with the Additional Director General of Police,
Shri K Vijayakumar, as he was out of station. However, a letter of protest
was handed over to his Camp Assistant and we were told that the ADGP will
be available on Tuesday at Chennai to receive our delegation.
The Delegation included, besides Radha Rajan
ji, Joint Secretary, VIGIL PUBLIC OPINION FORUM, Shri Swaminathan, Advocate,
Madras High Court, Capt H Balakrishnan, INS (Retd), a war veteran and S V
Badri, Hindu Devalaya Parirakshana Samiti.
*Background:*
A handful of Muslims protested outside the
Lalith Kala Academy at Chennai on the 06th of March. The Prince of Arcot,
who visited the site earlier in the day, thundered that what was presented
was "bunkum" and was far removed from History. He even volunteered
to have discussion on the issue with anybody who can debate with him on this
part of history (I can see a thousand hands going up to volunteer). But these
psuedos' know how to throw challenges, but once we volunteer, they will hide
in their zanana. He even yelled that he would speak to the appropriate authorities
and have the exhibits removed before Friday's Namaaz. And he succeeded, as
the willing police servants of the public (which public?), had them removed
on Thursday evening.
The police acted as though on a cue. The force
did nothing to quell the handful of Muslim protestors. Instead, were silent
by-standers. And to prove their "secular" credentials in the land
of Karunanidhi, pounced on the Hindus who were doing nothing but projecting
the right History of the Moghul atrocities on the Hindus and their destruction
of the Hindu Mandirs. What irked the Prince was the presence of two exhibits,
the ones that showed the army of Aurangazeb destroying the Keshav Rai Mandir
at Mathura and the other of the destruction of the Somnath Mandir. Under pressure,
the police wanted both the pictures removed. And threatened the elderly lady
volunteers of dire consequences should they not remove them.
The police were lead by the Assistant Commissioner
of Police, Murali who to say was most vile and abusive to the women is the
understatement of the year. Sample a few:
Francois Gautier is a "white dog"
(vellai naai) and (pointing to a young woman volunteer, he thundered) "What
is your relationship with him?". "He is a terrorist". "Are
you also a terrorist like him"? "Show me your passport" (to
the Indian National)? And many more unprintable words and questions……
There were expletives flowing out of his heavily
moustached face, with the ease of a "Kazhaga Udanpirappu" (meaning
DMK card holder - brethren of Karunanidhi).
The women who come from well-respected families
and have never been exposed to such derangement of alphabets were shell shocked.
And as this continued, he pulled down the paintings and smashed two of them.
The attendant policemen followed the leader and there was free-for-all, as
the cops brought the hall down.
The women were told by the ACP that they were
under arrest. This was around 7-30 P.M. No guidelines were followed. No arrest
memo given. There were no lady constables or lady police officials. The women
were whisked away to the Thousand lights police station. They were abused
by choicest of expletives reserved only for use by the Tamil Nadu politicians,
these days. The women, who hail from some of the most respected families in
Chennai, were bewildered, dumb-stuck, Shell-shocked and absolutely humiliated.
Radha Rajan ji, who got the message at Mumbai called up a Senior Police official,
whose intervention saved the night for the ladies, who had by now crumbled
under the burden of shame. The ACP forced them to write a note stating that
the women were taken to the police station only for inquiry and they were
not arrested.
*ACP Murali:*
From his acts of vandalism in the Lalith Kala
Academy and from the description obtained from the eyewitness of the events,
I am convinced that he is rudeness personified. A handful of Muslim protestors
could make him bend his back to God knows how many degrees. When the Commissioner
of Police tried to convince us that he is an upright officer, we vehemently
had to disagree with him.
His choice of words and language, while addressing
women, does not do his schooling, his parentage or his upbringing any proud.
What is shameful is that in a country where the anti-Hindu exhibits of the
likes of MF Hussain is protected with zeal by the policemen, the exhibition
of facts of Moghul rule under Aurangazeb is ransacked by the very same policemen
and arresting innocent Hindu women volunteers.
What one is not amused is the drawing of parallels
by a section of Press as also the artists of Chennai between MFH and this
exhibition. They have equated this exhibition to MFH's and have stated that
there should be freedom of artistic expression. FACT's exhibition is not an
example of an artistic expression, but representation of facts of History.
From the very History the Moghals wrote during their period of reign. There
lies the difference.
*Meeting with Commissioner of Police, Shri
Nanjil Kumaran:*
The C.O.P. received us well. Radha ji presented
our protest in a thorough manner. When it came to ACP Murali, the COP said
that he is an upright officer, to which we had to disagree and state that
the kind of words that he used against innocent women made us wonder at his
lack of culture and certainly not befitting a person of his rank in the Police
Department.
The COP raised a technical point that the
organizers had not obtained the necessary police permission for the exhibition
(Francois, is it true?). And that the police wanted them to remove only the
two exhibits and then continue with their exhibition, despite the lack of
obtaining permission.
When told about the blatant violation of guidelines
and procedures in "arresting" women, he agreed with us and said
that he would certainly make an internal inquiry and set things right.
The following is the text of the protest letter
given to the COP. Similar letter was handed over to the Camp Assistant of
the ADGP. Radha ji's interview was well covered by the SUN TV, during this
evening's bulletin, condemning the police atrocity at the Exhibition venue.
Watch the slideshow of the police high-handedness:
http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/svbadri/?action=view¤t=21ac2193.pbw
*TEXT OF PETITION HANDED OVER TO THE COP:*
To:
The Commissioner of Police
Shri Nanchil Kumaran
Greater Chennai Police.
Sub: Flagrant violation of procedural guidelines
when arresting women
Sir,
On the 6th March 2008, AC Murali of the Thousand
Lights police station arrested three women, and one man, Srimathi Saraswati,
Dr. Vijayalakshmi.
Srimathi Malathi and Shri BR Haran at 7.30 p.m. The following for your attention
-
1. Women are not supposed to be arrested after
6 p.m
2. No arrest memo was given to the persons
arrested
3. No lady police officer or lady constable
was present at the time of arrest
4. On orders from the Joint Commissioner of
Police Shri Balasubramaniam, AC Murali was compelled to release the women
but he did so only after forcing them to write and sign a statement that they
came to the police station only for inquiry and that they were being 'let
off' after inquiry
Vigil has the greatest respect for our men
in uniform in the armed forces and the police services. We therefore feel
compelled to approach you to seek redress. AC Murali besides using the foulest
language against Francois Gautier (vellakara naai, porukki, terrorist, associates
of terrorist) was also guilty of removing and causing damage to the paintings.
Needless to say, a police officer cannot interpret
the law nor take the law into his own hands. He must only enforce the law.
In the best interest of retaining our confidence in your department for upholding
the highest norms of policing, we seek that you deal with the errant officer
in question internally.
Violating procedural guidelines with regard
to arrest of persons, particularly elderly women, and the use of abusive and
foul language, is in our view a very gross offence and merits the strictest
disciplinary action by the department against the police officer concerned.
We are determined that the officer concerned must tender an unqualified apology
to all the three women either in writing separately to them or through us.
The women will not come to your police station again not even to accept the
apology.
We are sure you will heed our legitimate demand
and act in best interest of the reputation of the Tamil Nadu police and in
the interest of rule of law which is the defining feature of mature democracies.
Yours' sincerely,
Radha Rajan,
Joint Secretary, Vigil Public Opinion Forum,
Swaminathan, Advocate, Madras High Court,
Capt H Balakrishnan, INS (Retd), War veteran
S V Badri, Hindu Devalaya Parirakshana Samiti
Namaste,
S V Badri, Camp: Chennai
08-03- '08
