Chennai:

A senior Chennai Police officer – who held a Joint Commissioner-rank – has been suspended following sexual harassment allegations by a female colleague. The Internal Complaints Committee is acting on allegations made by the survivor. Confirming the suspension to NDTV, a senior cop said action will be taken according to the rules and a report submitted to the DGP.

This is the latest In a series of sexual assault allegations, including those from government and educational institutions, across Tamil Nadu.

Earlier this week three teachers at a state-run school were arrested for the alleged sexual assault of 13-year-old student and, in December a woman student from Chennai’s Anna University was sexually assaulted on campus. And, in another recent (and horrific) case, an 18-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted, just outside Chennai, while in a moving auto-rickshaw.

READ | 2 Men, Who Sexually Assaulted Teen In Chennai Auto, Spotted

The spate of sexual assault cases has prompted furious attacks on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam over the law-and-order situation in the southern state. The DMK, however, insists there is no problem with law enforcement, and that the guilty in each case has been arrested.

Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy said, “Survivors have confidence in our government and (that is why) they complain… with courage (knowing we will) bring perpetrators to book…”

He also took the opportunity for a jab at the opposition AIADMK, declaring rape and sexual assault survivors were “scared to complain” and that there were delays in filing police cases when that party was in power.

These incidents have become a major political flashpoint in the state ahead of next year’s Assembly election, with the AIADMK and the BJP (its former ally) attacking the DMK after it emerged the suspect in the Anna University case had links to the ruling party.

Chief Minister MK Stalin last month was forced to respond; he admitted the accused was a party sympathiser but firmly denied that the man held formal membership of the DMK.

READ | “Anna University Rape Suspect Is Not DMK Member”: MK Stalin

The accused is Gnanasekaran, a roadside biryani vendor.

Stressing the safety of women is of paramount importance to his government, Mr Stalin pointed out the man had not been shielded and that charges had been filed under the Goondas Act.

Chennai:

The Greater Chennai Police seized 30 machetes from the residence of gangster P. Nagendran, who is currently serving a life sentence in Vellore Central Prison.

Nagendran is the prime accused in the murder of BSP Tamil Nadu unit president K. Armstrong. Nagendran’s son, Ashwathaman, is the third accused in the case.

According to police sources, a raid was conducted at Nagendran’s residence on Wednesday, during which several deadly weapons, including machetes, were confiscated.

With this seizure, the total number of machetes recovered during the investigation into Armstrong’s murder has risen to 51.

K. Armstrong was brutally hacked to death on July 5, 2024, near his under-construction house in Perambur.

A gang of eight men, led by Ponnai Balu – brother of the, now dead, gangster Arcot Suresh – claimed responsibility for the murder and surrendered to the police the same evening.

Balu confessed that the killing was an act of revenge for the murder of his brother, Arcot Suresh, which he alleged had been planned and executed by Armstrong.

However, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Chennai City Police Commissioner M. Arun revealed that three separate gangs had colluded to carry out the murder. Armstrong was ultimately killed by Ponnai Balu and his associates.

Further investigations uncovered that P. Nagendran, who has been imprisoned for 26 years, and another gangster, Sambhav Senthil, had conspired and financed the murder.

Police said Nagendran held a personal grudge against Armstrong, accusing him of obstructing the political career of his son, Ashwathaman, who is a lawyer and a former office-bearer of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress.

Ashwathaman, the third accused in the case, has since been dismissed from the Congress party.

Sambhav Senthil, meanwhile, reportedly had disputes with Armstrong over real estate dealings.

A total of 28 individuals have been arrested in connection with the case. However, Sambhav Senthil and two of his close associates, Krishna Kumar and Appu, remain at large.

Senthil, classified as an A+ criminal record at the Washermenpet police station for his involvement in multiple murder cases, has been on the run since the incident.

The case has also implicated members of several political parties, including the AIADMK, Tamil Maanila Congress, BJP, and Congress. The police have submitted a comprehensive 5,000-page charge sheet to the magistrate court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Gurugram:

A man was arrested for allegedly defrauding a person by posing as a representative of a matrimonial site, police said on Monday.

The accused, Jafir Ansari, from Jargarhi village in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district, was arrested from Chennai on Sunday, they said.

Police recovered 14 mobile phones, a silver bar, eight Aadhaar cards, six ATM and credit cards, and a PAN card from his possession, officials added.

A man lodged a complaint in Cyber Crime police station (South) alleging that on December 2, Rs 1988 was automatically debited from his bank account as a part of the company’s auto-pay feature, they said.

On December 3, he searched for the platform’s customer care number online to deactivate the auto-pay feature, police said.

After contacting a number listed on the internet, he received a return call after sometime. The caller claimed to assist him and later switched to a WhatsApp call, citing network issues, they said.

In his complaint he said that the caller sought personal information, under the guise of help. Sensing something was amiss, the complainant contacted his bank’s customer care to close his account, the police said.

However, by then Rs 5 lakh had already been withdrawn from his account, they added, citing his complaint.

Following the complaint, an FIR was registered and a team led by Inspector Naveen Kumar traced and arrested the accused, the police said.

During interrogation, Ansari revealed that he and his associates posed as the matrimonial site’s customer care representatives, using manipulated contact numbers that appeared in online search results, they said.

The accused targeted users seeking assistance, gaining access to sensitive bank account information by sending malicious links and persuading victims to share their screens, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber) Priyanshu Dewan said.

He said that efforts are underway to nab the rest of Ansari’s associates. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File picture of workers of a Samsung facility during a strike to demand higher wages at its Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai on September 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Police have detained around 100 striking workers and union leaders protesting low wages at a Samsung Electronics plant near Chennai, as they were planning a march on Monday (September 16, 2024) without permission, police officials said.

The detention marks an escalation of a strike by workers at a Samsung home appliance plant near Chennai. Workers want higher wages and have boycotted work for seven days, disrupting production that contributes roughly a third of Samsung’s annual India revenue of $12 billion.

A senior police official of Kancheepuram district, Sankar Ganesh, told Reuters by telephone that around 100 workers were under “preventive arrest”, without elaborating.

Another police officer on condition of anonymity said the detentions were made due to a lack of permission to hold a protest march.

Samsung did not respond to a request for comment.

Workers have since last week been protesting at a makeshift tent near the plant, demanding higher wages, recognition for a union backed by labour group Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and better working hours.

Samsung is not keen to recognise any union backed by an outside labour group.

A. Jenitan, a union leader of CITU, told Reuters that police also detained one of their senior leaders, E. Muthukumar, who was leading the Samsung protests.

“The workers have been asked to return to the (strike) tent,” he said.