A video of a Tamil Nadu police official delivering a Singam-style dialogue to protect a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus from being attacked during the hartal in Kerala has gone viral.
The video shows the policeman, identified as Mohana Aiyer, warning a mob of protesters who were allegedly about to torch a state-run bus in Kaliyakkavilai, a town located at the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border.
“Vandiye thottudiviya. ***ley todu paappom. Ambalaya irundaa thodu paappom. (Will you touch the bus? Come, touch it. If you are a man, come and touch it!),” an angry Mohana Aiyer, the police official at Kaliyakkavila police station, can be seen saying, pointing a finger at the mob.
The incident took place on Thursday during the day-long strike called by right-wing groups in Kerala to protest against the entry of two women, Bindu and Kanakadurga, into the Sabarimala temple.
Meanwhile, KRTC MD Tomin J Thachankary spoke to the Mohana Aiyer over the phone and lauded his act. He also announced a token reward of Rs 1,000 for the police official.
On the day of the hartal, hundreds of KRTC buses were damaged and vandalised by protesters. According to KRTC MD, the corporation has suffered a loss of Rs 3.5 crore.
According to police data, 1,718 people have been arrested for rioting during the dawn-to-dusk hartal in connection with 1,108 cases. Data also shows that 1,009 people are under prevention custody. Fresh data from the police has revealed that the state has suffered a loss of Rs 1.04 crore in 223 rioting incidents.
Several parts of Kerala witnessed violence as several protesters resorted to arson and more than 300 protesters were arrested, with nearly 100 people, including police officials, getting injured in the violence.
Kanakadurga and Bindu, two women, had made the climb up to Sabarimala during the wee hours of Wednesday. This was the first time since the Supreme Court’s verdict on September 28 that women were able to enter the sanctum sanctorum. Over a dozen women had attempted the climb but were forced to go back midway after protests and resistance by anti-women groups.