In yet another shocking case of police brutality, a 34-year-old pregnant woman was killed after a traffic policeman kicked the two wheeler she was riding on with her husband at Thuvakudi near Tiruchy.
The deceased, Usha, was travelling with her husband on Wednesday evening when the incident occurred. The couple was near the BHEL headquarters when a police team asked them to stop.
When they did not stop, inspector Kamaraj chased them on another bike and after a short distance, kicked their vehicle. The bike then wobbled and the couple fell to the ground.
Usha sustained a head injury and died on the spot. She was three-months pregnant. Raja was also seriously injured. Kamaraj fled the scene when people began to gather at the spot.
The couple were taken to the government hospital in Thuvakudi where Usha was declared dead.
Following this, protests broke out at the spot of the incident, leading to traffic snarls on the Thanjavur- Trichy national highway for a few hours. Police officials had to visit the spot and pacify the agitators.
According to news reports, over 3000 people gathered at the spot and agitated over the death. Despite the police informing of the arrest they refused to disperse. Angry protesters then began flinging stones at the police, who retaliated with a lathi charge forcing agitators to disperse temporarily.
According to ToI, Kamaraj also got himself admitted to the hospital, claiming to have been injured. He has been arrested by the district police.
The sequence of events
According to her family, the 34-year-old teacher for children with special needs was traveling to a friend's wedding with her husband Raja. Raja was riding a bike, and was carrying a wet grinder as a gift, in front. The couple was stopped by the policemen on the Tiruchy-Thanjavur highway because Raja was not wearing a helmet. After a brief back and forth between Raja and the policeman, Kamaraj, the inspector walked away, and Raja believed he could then move on.
However, the inspector followed them on another bike, and kicked the bike thrice. Raja and Usha fell down, and Usha sustained severe head injuries and died on the spot. Raja was grieveously injured and was shifted to a hospital.
Police overreach
This is not the first time that police have exhibited violent behaviour in the pretense of maintaining law and order.
In November last year, a shocking incident that was caught on camera where a policeman in Kallupalam in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district whacked a bike rider with his lathi for not wearing a helmet and speeding past when asked to stop. The biker was grievously injured.
The incident has triggered much anger and people have taken to social media too to register their protest.
This is murder... #KillerInKhakhi #WhoKilledUsha pic.twitter.com/h1NjOyghoR
— Shabbir Ahmed (@Ahmedshabbir20) March 7, 2018
Well done Tamil Nadu police. Well done. Insensitivity and arrogance at its peak. #WhoKilledUsha
— Megha Sreeram (@meghasreeram) March 7, 2018
#WhoKilledUsha The human rights commission should urgently take serious action against this issue.. Human life is more valuable than 100 rupees fine
— KABALI (@iamsrikanth) March 7, 2018
#WhoKilledUsha The police are meant to protect people, not kill. Road safety rules can be enforced in a better way by using technology. https://t.co/0PLmWZeYtM
— V Ramesh (@V71Ramesh) March 8, 2018