The Thursday’s incident of two accused, who got convicted under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, creating ruckus on Madurai District Court campus is a grim reminder of how violent could the accused behave.
The accused are two brothers A. Pandiarajan, 23, and C. Prasanth, 22 and Pandiarajan’s wife, Saranya, of Ellis Nagar.
Immediately after the Special Court hearing the NDPS cases convicted all the three in a ganja case registered in 2024 for 12 years each, the brothers suddenly turned violent and started to punch at the glass panes of windows in the court room.
They shouted in a filthy language against their conviction claiming that they belonged to a deadly gang. They also complained that the case pertaining to possession of 25 kg of ganja was foisted against them as they were against another gang.
The policemen who escorted showed maximum restraint in handling them and bundled them out of the court.
They were taken to the Government Rajaji Hospital for the injury they had sustained in breaking the glass panes before they were sent to different jails in the State.
A case was registered against them by Anna Nagar police for their violent act on the court premises.
A police officer said that the court incident was only a tip of the iceberg about how rudely these prisoners/ accused behave with the escort policemen whenever they are brought out of the jail to be produced before the courts for hearing.
“Many refuse to eat their food if their demands of speaking to relatives in person or over phone are not allowed. This is the minimum harassment the police face every day,” he added.
Other accused would threaten to injure themselves by knocking their head against the walls, if they were not allowed to smoke.
The policemen who escort them, especially to far-off places, suffer a lot right from taking them out of the jail till they are lodged back in the jail.
“Many accused threaten the police that they would complain against them of harassment or torture before the court. Such threats keep the policemen under mental agony,” a policeman rued.
A police officer said that besides lodging complaints against the police in the courts, they also file private complaints against the police officers who act tough against antisocial elements.
“This is not just to threaten only the police officers who act tough but also those officers who think of acting tough,” another police officer said.
At least 15 police officers were facing private complaints.
The police feel that once a new prisoners’ cell is opened on the new court building, it would give a great relief to the escort policemen from physically keeping an eye on the accused for longer hours during their escort to the court and back to jail.
Published - April 25, 2025 07:27 pm IST
