Riot police contingents attached to the Armed Reserve across Tamil Nadu have been put on alert ahead of the ensuing caste, communal and political events, police sources said on Wednesday.
The sources said Director-General of Police C. Sylendra Babu has directed senior police officers to conduct riot drills and make sure that combat infrastructure, such as water cannons and guns firing plastic/rubber bullets, were in working condition. In a note to the Superintendents of Police of all districts, the DGP said riot police and young police personnel in the Armed Reserve should be deployed on drills and other physical exercises as per the Police Standing Order.
With birth/death anniversaries of important caste leaders in the southern districts, political conferences and major festivals falling in the ensuing months, there is a possibility of clashes between different groups of people. Police presence should be enhanced at vantage points and sensitive places that have had a history of caste or communal violence.
The preparedness of riot police teams should be assessed at regular intervals since their services could be required during emergency situations. “Our instruction to police personnel sent on bandobust duty has always been to exercise restraint and deal with the people in a cordial manner. Lathis, body shields and other riot infrastructure are to be used only as a last resort to protect the lives of innocent people and prevent damage to public property and in self-defence in the event of an attack by an unruly crowd,” a senior police officer said.
In the caste-sensitive southern districts, meetings would be held with functionaries of different caste organisations participating in the Immanuel Sekaran and Muthuramalinga Thevar anniversaries on the rules to be followed while visiting Paramakudi and Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district. Separete schemes would be drawn up for deployment of forces depending on the anticipated crowd and visit of VIPs for the annual events, the officer said.
