As the peaceful pro-jallikattu protest took a violent turn on Monday, Tamil Nadu Police allegedly unleashed violence on slum-dwellers living opposite to the Marina beach and other part of the capital city.
The slum dwellers allegedly offered protection to the youth and student when they were dragged and beaten up by the police in an effort to evacuate the protest site.
According to a New Indian Express Report, the protestors chased by the police sought shelter in the slums. The residents offered them first-aid, food and water.
“The police tried to split the crowd. They charged on the crowd there and as a result, the public came running into the streets opposite the beach for protection,” A lady, lives in a slum near the beach, was quoted by New Indian Express as saying.
“Suddenly we saw hundreds of youngsters running helter skelter outside our houses. Some of them were even bleeding and the police were behind them,” she added.
A resident of Nadukuppam hamlet alleged that police burnt a fish market, which usually holds more than 100 fish vendors, about ten meters from her house.
“More than 600 shops were burnt in the village. Police burnt down the fish market completely. We were witnesses to it. I have lost more than Rs 50,000; all the fishes kept in my shop were expensive ones,” The News Minute quoted a fish seller as saying.
Meanwhile, writer Meena Kandasamy alleged that Slums are being hunted down, ransacked, burnt and the people are beaten down in many parts of Chennai.
“Police are still at Pattinapakkam, Nadukuppam, Nochikuppam slums and picking up people and thrashing them. There is no media coverage, and the blackout of information is because the media is being taken over by the state,” she said in a Facebook post.
