Cops’ turn to throw the book

CHENNAI: The Chennai police have slapped attempt to murder charges on the Pachaiyappa's College students who stoned buses and injured commuters on Thursday.

Already, 14 persons, including 12 college students, have been arrested in connection with the offence, and a manhunt is on for two more students. While police say they will oppose the bail pleas of the arrested students strongly as and when they come up for hearing, college authorities have said the students concerned would be suspended from colleges forthwith.

The students indulged in vandalism after their bid to hijack an MTC bus for the banned 'bus day' celebrations was foiled.

The Thursday melee left behind a trail of destructions. According to police, two MTC buses, a police vehicle and a private car were damaged during the disturbance on Thursday. Sub-inspectors Duraipandian (47) of Chetpet police station and Mohanasundaram (52), Gangachalam (54), Raman (51) and Rengasamy (45) of the Kilpauk station, besides armed reserve constable Selvakumar suffered injuries. An MTC driver, V Gencilin (28), was also injured.

On the complaint of Gencilin, police have invoked attempt to murder charges, besides armed rioting, wrongful restraint, causing hurt, endangering personal safety of others and hurting a public servant, against the identified students. They have been charged with offences punishable under the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Destruction and Loss) Act 1982 and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.

It is the third 'bus day' menace witnessed by the city this year. A couple of weeks ago, students of the Government Arts College in Nandanam celebrated bus day and blocked the traffic on the arterial Anna Salai for more than four hours. New College students celebrated 'bus day' a couple of days ago, and it too ended in chaos and traffic snarls.


Armed with legal provisions and the Madras high court's observations made in the wake of the campus violence at the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Govt Law College three years ago, the city police entered the Pachaiyappa's College premises on Thursday and brought the student unrest to a quick end. But, by then, enough stones had already been hurled from the campus damaging public carriers and injuring passengers.