Recently, not just the media but also opposition parties and some individuals operating under the label of social media activists were making allegations about the recent custodial death and action against the SP, mainly directed at the DGP of the law and order department. These discussions weren’t only about him but also about Chennai City Commissioner Arun, with strong claims in police and political-media circles that there is a deliberate motive behind the persistent spread of negative news about him. With only eight or nine months remaining for the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly elections, the intensification of the political climate is seen as the main reason for the defamatory news targeting DGP Davidson Devasirvatham and Chennai City Commissioner Arun.
Generally, law and order issues are more or less the same regardless of which party is in power, but allegations from the DMK camp claim that only when the DMK is in power does it appear as if law and order problems are peaking. Political commentators and journalists in various interviews note that such an atmosphere is currently being created and that it’s not so easy to dismiss it, citing a deliberate situation being constructed. There are also strong claims that regressive forces keen on bringing political change in Tamil Nadu are highly active. In this context, after the brutal murder of Armstrong, the then state president of the Bahujan Samaj Party last year, Arun took charge as the Chennai City Commissioner. Since then, the data shows that murders and drug peddling (such as marijuana dealing) in Chennai city have considerably dropped. Meanwhile, with Davidson Devasirvatham’s appointment as DGP (Law and Order), even minor murders, especially those arising from personal grudges, are being discussed as major law and order concerns.
Opposition parties, the media, and social media actors continuously post, talk, and write about law and order, persistently creating the impression that law and order in Tamil Nadu is deteriorating. Police circles report that, backed by the central intelligence, some police officers, IAS officers, and media personnel, along with some regressive forces, are collaborating. To add, there are strong and substantiated allegations that caste and religious motives are being used by central intelligence, police officials, regressive forces, and political adversaries to identify and target Davidson Devasirvatham and Commissioner Arun, with both government and police intelligence reportedly receiving information to this effect. It appears that they are making strong efforts to transfer these officials before the upcoming assembly elections begin. If the state government considers these allegations and decides to transfer them, there are ongoing attempts to bring the next officials under the control of the central intelligence. What the state government will do remains to be seen… Dravida Jeeva
