CHENNAI: A drunk special-sub-Inspector (SSI) was suspended for misbehaving with a woman while he was helping pedestrians to cross Arcot Road at Liberty Junction, Kodambakkam.
Sources said SSI Panneerselvam attached to Vadapalani traffic enforcement wing halted the traffic for the woman and her colleagues to cross the road on Saturday night.
When the victim was crossing the road, Panneerselvam suddenly threw one of his hands around and groped her. The woman, though taken aback, dismissed it as an accident and walked away. That was when the cop called out to the woman ‘madam’ and waved at her suggestively. Infuriated, the woman and her colleagues reported the issue at the outpost to which he was posted.
Police initially tried to compromise with the woman and even tried to shoo them away. However, one of her colleagues, alerted friends who were taking part in the Ramadan prayer in a nearby mosque. The woman also stood firm in lodging a complaint while the colleauges of the traffic policeman tried to shield him by making him change to civvies and whisk him away from the spot, but in vain.
By then locals had gathered and learnt that the police officer was drunk. As the crowd swelled, the woman’s complaint was finally accepted and a community service register (CSR) receipt was issued. The complaint was pursued and the cop was booked on charges of indecent drunken behaviour.
In such instances, police invoke sections of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act 2002.
Meanwhile, a departmental inquiry has been ordered against the traffic officer who was also placed under suspension until further orders.