IPS officers rally behind inspector who faced collector's ire

Days after a video clip of Kancheepuram district collector P Ponniah purportedly threatening a police inspector went viral, the IPS Officers Association on Tuesday threw its weight behind him and said it expected all sections of society to respect policemen.

Abstaining from directly naming the collector and the incident, the Association's Tamil Nadu Chapter president Prateep V Philip said police department is making unprecedented arrangements for ensuring peaceful and smooth conduct of Lord Athivaradar festival at Kancheepuram.

"We expect all sections of society to respect the policemen and cooperate in discharge of their duties," he said in a statement.

Philip said the work done by each and every member of the police force in "trying circumstances," is appreciated.

"The Association expresses its solidarity with the department and every member of the force," he said.

The collector purportedly threatening the inspector in full public view and media glare has apparently anguished police personnel in Tamil Nadu and some of them have aired their views on the social media against such bashing.

In the footage, the district collector, overseeing arrangements at the temple for darshan of Lord Athivaradar, purportedly threatened the inspector that he will be suspended for alleged lapses in crowd management.

The Athivaradar idol is taken out from under the water in the tank of Sri Devarajaswamy temple at Kancheepuram once in 40 years.

The shrine has been attracting lakhs of devotees everyday leading to heavy rush and congestion in the town giving a tough time to police personnel and officials.

Since July 1, an estimated 80 lakh devotees have had darshan of the Lord and the festival is scheduled to end on August 16.