Chennai, Oct 28 (IANS) Former DMK Minister P.K. Sekarbabu and the party’s Lok Sabha member Dr Kalanidhi Veeraswamy were booked for allegedly obstructing police personnel during protests triggered by the arrest of former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi.
The Vepery police registered the case following a confrontation outside the Chennai Police Commissioner’s office, where Anbil Mahesh was reportedly taken after his arrest.
The charges include unlawful assembly and preventing public servants from discharging their official duties. The police action came amid protests by DMK functionaries at several locations across the city as the former minister was taken for medical examination and court proceedings.
Party members gathered outside the Commissioner’s office, at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and near the court premises.
Sekarbabu and other DMK members assembled outside the Commissioner’s office after learning that Anbil Mahesh had been brought there. An argument subsequently broke out between the party functionaries and police personnel stationed at the location.
During the heated exchange, Sekarbabu allegedly challenged the police over their conduct, asking, “Are you acting as mediators?” The remark was reportedly made amid mounting tension between the assembled party members and officials handling the situation outside the office.
Veeraswamy also reportedly joined the confrontation, along with other DMK functionaries present at the scene.
The Vepery police subsequently initiated proceedings against the two leaders over allegations that they had obstructed personnel carrying out their duties. The protests extended beyond the Commissioner’s office, as party members gathered at the government hospital and near the court.
Some DMK members allegedly blocked police vehicles at these locations during the former minister’s movement between different stages of the proceedings.
The reported obstruction added to tensions surrounding Anbil Mahesh’s transfer and subsequent remand.
The allegations against Sekarbabu and Kalanidhi Veeraswamy relate to their conduct during the protests, while the case involving Anbil Mahesh concerns alleged financial irregularities during his ministerial tenure.
Anbil Mahesh was arrested in connection with alleged irregularities amounting to Rs 400 crore during his tenure as School Education Minister in the previous DMK government. He was later produced before a court, which reportedly remanded him in judicial custody around midnight. The account provided does not include a response from either Sekarbabu or Veeraswamy to the allegations that prompted the Vepery police case.
–IANS
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