Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai   

Marina out of bounds to beach-goers after 11 p.m.

By S. Shivakumar

Chennai Oct. 9. Visitors to the Marina and Santhome beaches will have to pack their picnic baskets by 11 p.m. and head home following a new regulatory enforcement by the city police as part of a crime prevention exercise.

Regular visitors to the beach described the new restriction as "illogical and illegal." There are several persons who visit the beach to read a book or to write one and stay on during the night hours especially during full moon nights for inspiration. Even these persons, who are in a group and are quite safe, are forced to leave.

There have also been cases of married and engaged couples being harassed by the police even during the day. People, especially those belonging to middle class, make a beeline to beach for entertainment, but the latest policing exercise has created apprehension about harassment.

However, the police say their action is only regulatory. There is no law barring access to the beach beyond any stipulated time, they acknowledge. The new regulation has come about as visitors are easy targets for criminal gangs. The threat is more for young couples, who wander away to desolate spots.

Though the police statistics present quite a rosy picture, in reality, a senior police officer confides, several cases of women being assaulted are not reported to the police.

A couple of years ago, a gangster, who was arrested, allegedly confessed to have physically assaulted several women on the beach. He told the police that armed with a towel and knife he would look for isolated couples. With the towel, he would bind the arms of the man and harass the woman at knifepoint. The police were taken aback at the confession, for there were no complaints of that nature.

In another recent incident, a senior IPS officer, who came to the Santhome Beach in a private car along with an advocate friend around midnight, was alarmed to find a group of four youths attacking an aged person. The youth, who were in a drunken state, had come to the beach in a car and were furious for some petty reason with the aged man who had also come to the beach in a car.

The officer rushed to the rescue of the aged victim. The thugs, who were ignorant of the officer's identity, vented their ire at him. As the situation was threatening to get out of control, the officer alerted his colleague on the mobile. The youth managed to escape in their car. However, the vehicle number was noted and the thugs arrested after a chase by the police the same night. Later they were convicted in court.

Policing the beach is a daunting task for the uniformed personnel. Poor lighting, shortage of manpower and poor mobility to cover the vast stretch of sand in case of an emergency _ all make the beach a haven for anti-socials, a senior police officer says.

Protection zones

The Joint Commissioner of Police (South), J. K. Tripathy, says "We have to take some measures for making the beach a safe place for visitors. Those staying beyond 11 p.m. are advised by the police to leave the beach for their own safety. It is not practically possible to provide protection along the beach throughout the night. However, the police are planning to earmark certain areas, which are well lit to allow families to spend longer hours on the beach. Police protection will also be provided for these zones."

With wine shops remaining open sometimes beyond 11 p.m. and normal activity coming to a close around this time, there is a tendency for drunkards and thieves to visit the beach during the odd hours.

The lack of trained policing of the beach and measures to improve lighting and patrol is reflected in the crude questioning that the police resort to when they come across any visitor, including married couples. By contrast, men who harass genuine visitors on the Elliots or Marina beaches, but travel around in posh cars flaunting their "connections" with those in authority, rarely come to adverse notice, visitors say.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Marina out of bounds to beach-goers after 11 p.m.
• High Court orders CB-CID prosecution against SPs
• Youth held for Bangalore murder
• `Rights violation in police custody not unusual here'
• Huge revenue loss for MTC

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu