The coordinator of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) SP Udayakumar has condemned the police for allegedly harassing a woman journalist from Germany at Koodankulam police station on Monday.
Sandra Peterson, South Asian Correspondent of German Radio Network, and its Indian Correspondent Anju Saxena came to Kanyakumari on Monday morning.
The duo then called Udhayakumar over phone and told him that they wanted to interview him and the villagers of Idinthakarai. “In fact I told them to inform the Koodankulam police station about their proposed visit to Idinthakarai,” said Udhayakumar. As per Udhayakumar’s advice, the two journalists, Sandra Peterson and Anju Saxena, went the Koodankulam police station to inform about their visit to Idinthakarai. The officials at the station made them wait for several hours in the guise of verification of their documents and alleged to have harassed them. “After making them wait for a long time, the cops sent them back to Kanyakumari,” claimed Udhayakumar.
When Express contacted a senior police officer, he denied harassing the German journalist Sandra Peterson. The journalist came along with two others to the station. “As per protocol, we checked their passport and visa and did not harass them. Later we allowed them to go,” the officer said. As KKNPP was a vital installation, police regularly check documents of all foreigners, who visit the area, he added.