Justice hits snooze
In Tiruchy, visiting a police station within both city and rural limits between 2 pm and 5 pm can be a pointless exercise. That’s when many officers, including head constables, writers and even those at the commissioner’s and SP’s offices, reportedly take their afternoon nap. Calls go unanswered, doors remain shut, and petitioners are left waiting outside with no clue when help will arrive. This unofficial siesta hour is so well-known that complainants whisper about it before approaching the police. If law enforcers are asleep, who’s watching the streets?
- P Thiruselvam
Stirred, not shaken
The buzz around a recruitment drive for cooks and assistants under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme in Dindigul saw candidates lining up for political referrals like they were queuing for free meals. A group approached Vedasandur MLA S Gandhirajan only to be told, bluntly, that no recommendations would be made. So persistent were the aspirants that his office had to put up a signboard: No recommendations for cook posts. For many, it was the first time a politician had declined to interfere. Clearly, the MLA was stirred, but not shaken and held his ground even as things simmered outside.
- Saravanan MP
Scoop turns sour
Reporting on wheelchair woes at a Tirunelveli hospital landed a journalist in the administrator’s hot seat – literally. After his story on lax contract workers aired, he was summoned and shown CCTV footage of his own reporting, followed by a fresh recording of the same attendant, an elderly woman, denying all complaints. The admin claimed the journalist had recorded the video without consent and warned him not to meddle again. Since then, journos avoid the hospital like the plague – masks on, mics off.
- Thinakaran Rajamani
(Compiled by Adarsh TR)