Slum-dwellers across Marina beach bear the brunt of cop violence

As the protests at Marina took an ugly turn on Monday, it was the slum-dwellers living on stretches opposite the beach that bore the brunt of violence.
The vehicles were set on fire near Ice house police station at Marina. |  EPS
The vehicles were set on fire near Ice house police station at Marina. | EPS

CHENNAI: As the protests at Marina took an ugly turn on Monday, it was the slum-dwellers living on stretches opposite the beach that bore the brunt of violence. Though they had little role in the protests, they ended up paying a price for reasons unclear.

A 24-year-old resident of Nadukuppam – a hamlet adjacent to a fish market near the beach – Sumana Ram* explains why these roads saw more tension than the rest of the city.

“The police tried to split the crowd. They charged on the crowd there and as a result, the public came running into the streets opposite the beach for protection,” she said.

The mob, chased by the police, infiltrated streets such as Radhakrishnan Salai, Barathi Road, Llyod’s Road, Dr Besant Road and other smaller streets. “Suddenly we saw hundreds of youngsters running helter skelter outside our houses. Some of them were even bleeding and the police were behind them” she added, saying that some residents took in the protesters to offer them first-aid, food and water.

A bike that was damaged in police charging at
Mattan Kuppam in Triplicane | Martin Louis

“I had gone to pick my daughter from the school and my husband was outside. When we came back, the police had broken our doors while charging. This is the only door to our house, and we’re not sure if things were stolen. How are we going to spend the night here with our two daughters,” said Rajeswari Kumaresan, another resident. “We didn’t even host anybody; why is our house damaged?” she wondered. 

About ten meters from Rajeswari’s house, a fish market that usually holds over hundred fish vendors was still smoking. The fish market, that’s about the size of 15 MTC buses put together, was in ashes. 

“We saw the police set fire to the market. I got stock worth `20,000 this morning,” said Desam, a fish vendor. “This market was our livelihood. They also burnt 3 autos, one mini van and many two wheelers. You think we store tear gas bombs? Who dropped them then? They want to make the public think that we burnt our own things,” she grieved.

The family of Tamizharasan A, a teenager in the neighbourhood, allege that the boy has been arrested by the police. “Gauging from the way he was being beaten and dragged, I don’t think he’s alive. People are telling me he died,” said his mother as she sat on the road and wailed in agony.

Assistant Commissioner S Pandiyan, who was stationed further down the road, denied that police were involved in any kind of unfair violence.

“It’s purely politics. The students and the youth of the city have withdrawn from the protests; it’s people with vested political interest who started acts of violence. The public burned several police vehicles. At least a dozen of them were burnt in the middle of the street while we were watching,” he said. “We chased people and asked them to leave volatile places. We didn’t harm anybody illegally.”

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