Of big catches and peace, order

Chennai: Tamil Nadu police were on a high in 2013 because of their success in capturing the most wanted terror suspects Police Fakruddin and his two associates. Though the wanted explosive specialist Abubakkar Sidique is still a wanted fugitive, the department celebrated its catch by rewarding almost every policemen in the SID in October.

City police, on its part, heaved a sigh of relief when they managed to rescue a UK couple from Cuddalore, after they were kidnapped from the Chennai airport in June.

People started noticing more police and patrol vehicles on the road after police started flashing their LED red and blue beacon lights on a 24/7 basis.  On the administrative side, city police started functioning from its new swanky headquarters in Vepery. A look at major police related events in the year 2013.

January

January 2013 witnessed much speculation about a Tirupur businessman’s possession of five billion dollars worth US bills exchange, till income tax officials indicated that these were fake and he could never have purchased it.

DC carried a special story on January 6 on how the police control room 100 went dead, well over 90 minutes. A reader took the issue to the Human Rights Commission saying that every resident has the right to call emergency in a crisis and the right was violated when the control room went dead.

The month also kept police busy after the department decided to book rapists under the Goondas Act  in the background of the Delhi gang rape incident. To crack down on the illegal use of mobile phones inside Puzhal central jail complex, earth movers were used to dig for for instruments buried in the premises.

Commissioner of Police S. George with the rescued UK couple. 

February

City police commissioner S. George gave a major relief to his subordinates when he announced that officials doing night duty would have to report to duty only by 2 pm next day. A woman IPS official who had been serving as the deputy commissioner of police, Trichy, disappeared’; she had taken up an UN peace keeping assignment in Sudan without sanction from the home secretary.

This hit the headlines in February last year. DC first published a story about the decision of government to hand over the  sensational Pakistan spy case in which TN police arrested a suspected ISI operative Tha­meem Ansari in September 2012, to the National Investigation Agency for a further probe, sources said here.

March

DC was the first paper to carry the news about police arresting two conmen who had managed to assemble in a marriage hall in Porur, over 350 people who had completed teachers’ training, by promising job as secondary grade teachers after sending them SMSes.

The two were getting ready to collect Rs.1.1 lakh from each of them. On March 15, DC carried the exclusive story of a Sri Lankan businessman who was kidnapped from Chennai airport on his arrival from Australia by a gang member who posed as a chauffeur from a luxury hotel in the city. March also witnessed much political heat being generated when the CBI seized 33 posh imported cars, including that of M K Stalin and BCCI chief Srinivasan, for duty violation.
 
April

The month saw several news items of the Bangalore BJP office blast and its TN connection.  In April 22, police arrested two Ul Uma men for their involvement in the blast.

DC carried a story on the increase in the illegal sale of beer and liquor to tourists, particularly foreigners in restaurants in Mahabalipuram and ECR, and police warning owners of food joints to face legal action.

May

May was the month when the IPL betting scam and its Chennai links were probed by police.  DC broke the story that wanted suspected militant Police Fakruddin was also wanted in the Bangalore blast.

The month saw police gearing up against drunken driving in a full-fledged way and suspending over 2500 drivers who were caught driving while drunk. The month also witnessed the Benz car of Shaji Purushothaman, son of a liquor baron, mowing down people on the pavement. 

June

DC broke the story of the kidnap of a London couple and their rescue by Chennai police. It was in June that CCB personnel picked up actress Leena Maria Paul from Delhi, in connection with the multi crore bank fraud committed by her and her boyfriend Sukash. DC was the first paper to highlight the situation of 300 pilgrims, including 106 women from Tamil Nadu who were on the Kedarnath yatra and believed to be stranded in flood affected areas in Uttarkhand.

July

DC highlighted the plight of a lady doctor who was molested by a BE student and temple priest while travelling to Chennai from her hometown. This newspaper also carried a news item about a rare incident of road rage in which a software engineer on a two-wheeler killed a fish cart driver by hitting him with a helmet in Pazhavanthaga. 

July also saw DC breaking the story about the CBI probing a multi-crore scam in the import of pharmaceutical drugs by at least four firms in Chennai from China in alleged connivance with customs officials in Chennai airport; this was done without registering drug names and without getting the required license fee using fake quality control certificates from a central drug control organisation. In the same month DC also carried a story about a project officer in IIT Madras frantically searching for his 14-year-old autistic son who was found dead on the railway track later.

August

The month saw several news items on the affair of film director Cheran’s daughter. The girl Dhamini who initially lodged a complaint against her parents saying that they were threatening her lover,  went back with her influential father and mother.

In August, Chennai city traffic police started booking drunken drivers who cause accidents and injure others on the road, under a new section of ‘attempt to commit culpable homicide’. DC carried a story on an LKG student’s kidnap and how criminals were influenced by a movie.

The story of a 14-year-old girl who was a victim of serial rape in Chennai, starting from a godman in Vyasarpadi, hit the he­adlines in August. DC was the first to highlight the inc­rea­sed high tech vigil at the airport.

September

This newspaper was the first to break the story about the much-hyped Rs 150 crore traffic surveillance system with 600 cameras and 272 towers for Chennai city being shelved by police. Abandoned by R&AW, a spy takes tuition for a living - DC highlighted the plight of a deputy  field officer of India’s premier external spy agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), who had been battling his powerful bosses over suspension and termination and taking tuitions at home in Velachery to feed his family, despite his getting a reinstatement order from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Chennai.  This newspaper published a report about the police decision to evaluate all antique items in 45000 temples in the state, a year after the arrest of international smuggler Subash Kapoor.

October

The arrest of Police Fak­ruddin and his associates dominated crime news in October. DC broke the story about his recce in Gujarat to assassinate BJP leader Narendra Modi and his links with IM operati­ves. In October this newspaper highlighted the story about the stressful life of software professionals in swanky offi­ces.

November

DC broke a story about a teen gang operating in St Thomas Mount which had been allegedly assaulting and robbing people in the subway.  This newspaper was the first to report the tragic accident that social activist Shivakumar met with in front of Chennai Central station. A woman hiring a gang to kill her husband was highlighted by the media. 

DC carried a special story on how a constable died after he climbed up a coconut tree to pluck a coconut for his boss, the inspector. DC also published a story about the biggest marketing efforts by BSNL to stay afloat in the mobile phone service business, by planning to bring nearly 10 lakh subscribers under the umbrella of one CUG (closed user group) through Tamil Nadu police.

December

December was the month when inmates in central prisons in the state were legally allowed to talk to their lawyers and family members over phone from booths created in the jail premises. DC reported  alleged incidents of chain snatching and molesting inside the prestigious Anna university Guindy campus by a research scholar.

In December this newspaper carried reports of three cases which showed the high-handedness of lawyers. In one case, lawyer Nolamabur threatened a woman green activist at her flat, while in another case an advocate allegedly attacked a customs official in Customs house and in the third case, SBI officials were beaten in a lawyer’s chamber in the high court premises.  DC carried a detailed report on the kind of guns found on the US mercenary ship detained by TN.