TIRUCHY: Tempers ran high and security had to be beefed up in the city on Monday after a group of law students rubbed the cops the wrong way when they attempted to stage a protest to express solidarity with total prohibition by demonstrating ‘live’ the ill-effects of alcohol.
The protest of the Tiruchy Law College students under the aegis of Vidiyalai Thedi movement saw 20 youth taking the long march to a TASMAC outlet on the outskirts of the city to become one among the tipplers. However, the city police put paid to their hopes when they stopped the wannabe tipplers on their tracks. While the students harped on their rights, the adamant policemen refused them entry to the shop, citing lack of prior permission.
Just as the things were getting out of hands, the law students claimed that they were not holding any protest, but only wanted to celebrate a special occassion by downing a drink or two. However, when the police turned a deaf ear to them, the students raised slogans: “Don’t we have any right to enter the TASMAC and consume liquor like other people?”
Even as the policemen were racking their brains to deal with the situation, some students requested the officials to let them leave the spot, so that they could hold their party at some other outlet. When cops refused to this as well, the students began shouting at the cops, forcing the latter to detain them. They were released later in the evening.
A huge posse of police personnel, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner (Prohibition Enforcement Wing) K Balakrishnan, was deployed in the area to prevent the situation from snowballing into a major issue.