In the wake of Statewide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens, Chief Minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswami on Sunday held a meeting with Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam, DGP J. K. Tripathy and others to review the law and order situation.
According to sources, the officers briefed Mr. Palaniswami about the ground situation since Friday evening when the protests spread and discussed how to handle the situation and prevent law and order problems. The DGP appointed six special officers, including two in the rank of ADGP, to specifically monitor anti-CAA protests in areas earmarked for them.
A source said the Chief Minister was apprised about how protests were handled and why they spread outside Chennai. While on Friday evening the protest at Old Washermanpet in Chennai was only against the CAA , subsequently there has been a demand by protesters across the State to pass a resolution against the CAA in the ongoing Assembly session.
Home Secretary S.K. Prabakar, Chennai Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan, Public Secretary P. Senthil Kumar and one of Chief Minister’s Secretary M. Sai Kumar were present at the meeting at the CM’s camp office on Greenways Road.
As per the DGP’s order Abhay Kumar Singh, ADGP, Idol Wing, will monitor the Madurai city and the Madurai range; and Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal (ADGP Operations), will handle the Tirunelveli city and the Tirunelveli range keeping a watch on anti-CAA protests.
While S Murugan, IG, EOW, has been asked to monitor the Tirunelveli range, G Stalin SP, Civil Supplies CID is in-charge of Ottanchathiram and Palani in Dindigul district. V Baskaran, commandant, 13th battalion, will be supervising Cumbum and Bodi in Theni district and P Mahendran, commandant 5th battalion, will take care of Kayalpatinam in Thoothukudi district.
K. Jayanth Murali, ADGP, Law and Order, has been asked to coordinate with the six officers and provide all necessary support.
“The protests have been going for quite some time now. One of our duties is to keep our men motivated and prevent their morale from going down. We will also ensure that our men handle the situation sensibly and sensitively,” said an officer.
The DGP also directed senior officers from the Government Railway Police, training wing and Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Cell (IPREC) to monitor protests in Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts.
While ADGP Shailesh Kumar Yadav of Social Justice and Human Rights has been asked to take care of Central Zone, IG Sarangan will be monitoring the Thanjavur range. G Ramar, Superintendent of Police, IPREC, will handle Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam.
R. Ramakrishnan, SP, Police Recruits School, will handle Tiruvarur, Nanilam, Mannargudi and T. Senthil Kumar, SP Railways, Trichi, will handle Thanjavur, Papanasam, Kumbakonam and Thiruvidaimaruthur.
S. Selvarai, SP Tamil Nadu Police Academy, will monitor Keeranur, Illupur, Ponnamaravathi and Pudukottai.
The DGP has directed the officers to take charge immediately and adopt adequate precautionary measures to avert any untoward incidents.
Jayakumar holds meeting
Later in the day, senior Minister D. Jayakumar met representatives from various mosques and senior police officers in his Royapuram office. He said there were some concerns among Muslims over six specific provisions in the Census questionnaire and sought their removal.
“Their concerns will be taken to the Chief Minister’s attention. As far as the government is concerned, we have always been protecting the interests of the minorities,” Mr. Jayakumar said.
Asked whether there would be any decision by the government on the CAA, the Minister said it was a policy decision and only the CM could decide.
