Pattinapakkam residents want closure of liquor shop

Chennai: Two days after two Pattinapakkam residents were killed while chasing a robber, the residents of fishing hamlets from Marina to Srinivasapuram attempted to self-immolate on Thursday, seeking to permanently down the shutters on the lone Tasmac liquor shop on Marina Loop Road.  The cops successfully thwarted the suicide attempt of as many as six women protesters, who were removed from the scene.

A group of women tried to get past barricades to attack the liquor shop, but were prevented. The women were holding their family cards, which are mandatory to receive ration through the Public Distribution System (PDS) as if to return them. They claimed that the shop was the primary reason behind the Monday night incident in which Nandhini, a schoolteacher and Shaker, a retired PWD employee, were killed in the accident induced by the robbery in which Kannan aka 'Yamaha' Kannan snatched the former's bag when she was returning home with her cousin A. Najju aka Gayatri after withdrawing money from an ATM in Mandaiveli. Heavy force was deployed anticipating the protesters.  The shop which was to open at noon did not open for business and the protesters turned up outside it at 12.25 pm.