CHENNAI: The airport police registered a case against three MDMK functionaries, for having created a crowd-control situation on Wednesday. Following initial reports that the Airport S2 Police Station had registered cases under sections 134 (unlawful assembly) and 188 (refusal to comply) of the IPC against Vaiko, police sources at the airport said, “We have registered a case only against Mallai Sathya and D R R Senguttavan and not Vaiko, for attempting to undertake a public procession without permission.”
Vaiko was given a rousing welcome by over 800 of his party workers, at the Chennai airport. He had just returned after a tour of Malaysia, where he had spoken at several pro-Tamil conferences. The party workers’ enthusiasm had caused serious concerns for the cops as they clogged the car lane at the airport, and parked themselves in the already cluttered parking lots.
The real trouble is believed to have stemmed from their desire to have Vaiko be taken for a victory lap on a horse-pulled carriage - which the police did not allow inside the airport. This led to a lot of argument before the leader decided to employ the horsepower under his car’s hood, to leave the area. “Passengers were affected and reports were sent to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) because of this,” said an airport source.
CISF, who handle airport security and the police had a torrid time with crowd control, at the Anna International Airport. The CISF Commandant confirmed that close to 100 party workers had entered the visitors area after purchasing tickets and created an “overcrowding” situation. Security at airports has been tighter following three bomb threats at different airports across the country.