Asserting that no harassment was done by the DMK functionaries, Prabhakar Raja asked how the woman could have turned around and seen who touched her from behind when there were thousands of people at the event.
Days after a woman constable with the Chennai police accused two Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) functionaries of sexually harassing her at a party event on December 31, Virugambakkam MLA AMV Prabhakar Raja has denied the allegations against the duo in a phone call with TNM. Calling the accused — DMK youth wing members S Praveen (23) and Egambaram (24) — innocent, the MLA told TNM on Wednesday, January 4, that the two were not involved in the incident.
“Who would dare misbehave with a woman police officer?” Prabhakar Raja asked, adding: “Sadharana pon mela kaivachalea thalaivali” (“it is a headache even if an ordinary woman is touched”). Asserting that no harassment was done by the DMK functionaries, he asked how the woman could have turned around and seen who touched her from behind when there were thousands of people at the event. “No harassment was done by these DMK functionaries. Is it possible to touch a woman police like this? Someone may have touched her, but not these two people. Of the thousands there, anyone could have done it. A hand could have fallen on her lightly,” he said.
He also claimed that one of the accused tried to escape the spot because the police chased after him. “Young people are scared of the police. They must have run because of the fear.”
Reports have said the MLA intervened and asked the police not to arrest them despite the woman constable filing a complaint against them at the Virugambakkam police station. The officer withdrew her complaint on Monday after the DMK functionaries issued an apology letter. On the day, the MLA’s manager Meganathan and advocate Boopathy were at the Koyambedu police district Deputy Commissioner’s office representing the accused.
When asked about the allegation that the MLA pressured the police not to take action in the case, Prabhakar denied it. “Is something like this possible in this regime? In the Kalaignar Karunanidhi regime, it may have been possible. At the time, our word was the rule. But this is not possible at all under the rule of CM MK Stalin. People think twice before doing anything now. Do you think I, as an MLA, would do this? The opposition just wants to create issues. Only the media is criticising us, not the public, the public knows the truth,” he said, adding that he had, in fact, told the inspector to punish the accused if there was incriminating CCTV footage.
“If the functionaries intentionally misbehaved with a woman officer, the police department should take stringent actions against them. However, the police cannot simply press charges against them without any evidence, just because they were present at the spot when the incident happened,” the MLA said.
“I’ve been in politics since 2009 and this is the first time such an unfortunate incident has taken place here. But people know that I do not condone this kind of behaviour,” he said. The MLA then said that he had faced instances where people he knew were accused of assault, hacking, or stabbing, but never of harassing women.
Read: DMK members accused of sexually harassing woman cop arrested in Chennai
When TNM asked why the duo was arrested by the police and suspended by the party if they were innocent, the MLA said this was because of the pressure from the media. “Imagine how depraved someone must be to do something like this to a police officer. These men are not like that. They are innocent, and were arrested only because of pressure from the media. Now the media is talking only about this. When an innocent person is repeatedly portrayed as an accused, such reactions follow,” he said.
Praveen is a 129th circle youth wing functionary of the DMK. Egambaram, a resident of Chinmaya Nagar, is also a youth wing worker. The incident in question took place on the night of December 31, when the woman officer was deployed for security at the centenary celebrations of the party’s former general secretary K Anbazhagan. The event was held at Dasarathapuram in the presence of Members of Parliament Kanimozhi, Thamizhachi Thangapandian, and MLA Prabhakar Raja. During the course of the night, Praveen and Egambaram allegedly got drunk and misbehaved with the officer. A male constable named Kesavan who witnessed the incident caught hold of one of the accused, while the other fled from the spot. The police managed to nab the second accused later.
Source: The News Minute