Contrary to the popular belief that “police inaction” against the anti-socials from three dominant communities of this region was the reason behind the recent spurt in murders, the number of detentions under the Goondas Act during the past 15 months reveals that the law-enforcers have indeed acted tough against the outlaws.
Unfortunately, those efforts failed to act as a credible deterrent to keep the outlaws at bay and consequent reduction in the number of murders.
After the recent spurt in murders in Tirunelveli district, leaders of political parties and caste outfits continue to argue that the panicky situation prevailing here could have been avoided if the police had made timely arrest of anti-socials.
Mostly, innocents lost their lives in the gruesome murders that actually prompted the caste and political leaders to train their guns at the police.
However, the statistics provided by the police reveal that the law-enforcement agencies had taken a few preventive measures that failed to yield the desired results. The statistics available with the police say that 15 persons from the Thevar community have been detained under the Goondas Act in the past three months, along with 11 Dalits and 6 Nadars.
“During the previous year (2014) also, the police detained 48 Thevars, 25 Dalits and 17 Nadars under the provisions of the Goondas Act as they undermined peace, troubled others and indulged in unlawful activities. So we’re not prepared to buy the argument that the police failed in their duty. We did our best but the situation demands the toughest possible action, which will follow in the days to come,” said a senior police officer here. He said that the recent murders with caste overtones were the handiwork of budding criminals who were following in the footsteps of their ‘self-appointed leaders’ in a bid to become leaders of their respective caste group.
“Most of the culprits arrested or surrendered before the court for these murders are either in their teens or in early 20s. Now, we’re concentrating on nipping these buds by strengthening intelligence inputs from vulnerable villages.”
