Tamil Nadu Collector threatens inspector, says "You are finished"
What's the story
A video of Kanchipuram Collector abusing a police inspector and threatening to suspend him has gone viral.
Reportedly, the collector, P Ponniah, lashed out at Inspector Ramesh from Tiruvallur for allegedly allowing people into the VIP queue at the Varadaraja Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram without checking their passes.
According to reports, the incident took place on Friday night.
Here are more details.
Details
Collector noticed VIP enclosure was crowded; got angry
Police sources informed The Hindu that the incident occurred at around 7:30 pm when Ponniah showed up at the VIP queue at the temple and noticed that it was very crowded.
He allegedly saw Ramesh letting devotees without VIP passes into the exclusive VIP enclosure.
The collector then lost his cool and berated the inspector, who is seen apologizing profusely.
Video
You are finished. You are suspended today: Ponniah told inspector
"Did you come to cheat? I'll finish you. What checks are you doing? So many are without passes," NDTV quoted Ponniah as saying in the video.
He said, "Senior IPS officers and important ministers are coming. You are finished. You are suspended today."
"You police personnel are arrogant. Where is the Inspector General? Ask him to come. Suspend him. Come what may," he added.
Facebook Post
Watch the viral video here
Suspension
Ramesh can't be suspended without proper complaint, says police
Meanwhile, a senior police officer said that Ramesh can't be suspended without a proper complaint.
They said, "[Ponniah] could have warned the inspector and written to senior police officers to suspend [Ramesh]. But he shouldn't have verbally abused him in front of the public."
Separately, Tamil Nadu-resident Manikandan appealed to the Chief Minister to suspend Ponniah, in a complaint to CM's cell.
Other developments
Ramesh let elderly couple pass to VIP area, police claims
Reportedly, a video clip of policemen helping devotees with darshan is also going viral.
Police officials said that Ramesh had let an elderly couple pass through the VIP enclosure as they struggled to offer their prayers.
In his defense, Ponniah on Sunday remarked that he got "emotional" over streamlining the system and "there was nothing against an individual officer or the police department."
Darshan
Athi Varadar idol open to public once in 40 years
Notably, lakhs of devotees throng the Varadaraja Perumal temple to offer prayers to the Athi Varadar deity.
The Athi Varadar idol remains immersed in a tank and is only taken out for public worship once every 40 years. This drives devotees to become more enthused.
Reportedly, last month, at least six people lost their lives while waiting for darshan or returning from the temple.