COIMBATORE: A recent video doing the rounds on social media — that of an Armed Reserve policeman confessing to breaking the window of a police vehicle at the site of a public protest against a Tasmac outlet in Samalapuram in Tirupur — has landed them in trouble.
The police had earlier blamed the protesters for damaging their vehicles and cited it as the reason for the lathi charge.
On Tuesday, police personnel physically assaulted protesters, including women, when they were demanding the closure of a Tasmac shop. Tirupur Superintendent of Police (SP) E S Uma then defended the police action.
“Initially we spoke to the people asking them to disperse from the spot and we assured to resolve the issue. But the people did not hear us and continued to protest. They also pelted stones on the police vehicle, after which police lathi charged the protesters.”
However, in the video, a police personnel is seen showing injuries on his hand to a colleague and saying it happened while breaking a glass window. The colleague asks him again if he indeed broke the glass. He replies in affirmative.
The video also shows the broken glass window of the police vehicle. Express could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. The protesters in Samalapuram alleged that the police personnel themselves broke the vehicle window panes to justify their lathi attack.
Responding to the allegation, Tirupur Superintendent of Police said, “I was informed that the glass was broken only after the people pelted stones on it. But we do not know whether the police broke it or not. We will investigate into it.”