According to reports, Virugambakkam MLA AMV Prabhakara Raja had intervened in the matter and asked the police not to make an issue out of the incident.
Just two days after a woman constable with the Chennai Police filed a complaint of sexual harassment against two members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Youth Wing, she withdrew her complaint on January 2, Monday. According to a report by The Hindu, Virugambakkam MLA AMV Prabhakara Raja had intervened in the matter and asked the police not to make an issue out of the incident.
The incident in question took place on December 31, when the woman officer from the Virugambakkam police station was deployed to the DMK party meeting in Dasarathapuram, where the functionaries were celebrating the centenary of former party general secretary K Anbazhagan. DMK Members of Parliament M Kanimozhi, Thamizhachi Thangapandian, and MLA Prabhakara Raja were in attendance. Later during the meeting, two DMK members, Praveen and Egambaram allegedly got drunk and harassed the officer. Though a male constable who witnessed the incident caught hold of one of the perpetrators, the other escaped. The police later managed to nab the second accused as well.
The constable’s complaint was withdrawn after both Praveen and Egambaram issued an apology letter at the Koyambedu Deputy Commissioner’s office, stating that the incident was unintentional and that it happened because there was a huge crowd at the public meeting.
Meanwhile, Opposition parties have demanded strict action against the DMK functionaries who misbehaved with the officer. Coming down heavily on the government, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami stated that “such recurring incidents raised concerns about the safety of the women in the state.” He also demanded that the government arrest the accused immediately.
BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai called the incident disgraceful, stating in a tweet that the “governance is in deep slumber”. “What’s more disgusting is that the DMK men ganged up and stopped police from arresting those two individuals,” he further noted in his tweet.
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary TTV Dhinakaran and AIADMK’s former interim general secretary VK Sasikala also condemned the government’s stand on the incident. “How can this government give protection to the entire state if they can’t control their own party members?” Sasikala asked in her statement, adding that no one would accept women getting humiliated in Dravidian land.
Source: The News Minute