CHENNAI: The Anna Square police have registered an FIR against 83 sanitation workers, including 51 women, under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to unlawful assembly and holding a protest in a non-permitted area On Thursday. A total of 87 workers had taken part in the demonstration.
The protest began around 11 am on Wednesday at Marina Beach, where about 40 workers walked into the water, raising slogans and demanding employment directly under the city corporation. Police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed to the spot and brought the protesters back to shore.
“When the police released us, they did not collect or record our details as required by protocol. We were not informed about the FIR either,” K. Suresh, state secretary of the Left Trade Union Centre in Chennai, told TNIE.
He added that remarks made during Tuesday’s press meet by Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam president K. Bharathi that the workers would intensify their agitation in front of the Chief Minister’s residence and the Mayor’s residence if no permanent solution was provided - may have prompted the police to file the FIR.