T.N. government is taking steps to maintain law and order: Minister

Tamil Nadu Law Minister discusses government measures to monitor anti-social elements and maintain law and order effectively.

Listing the steps being taken by the Tamil Nadu government to maintain law and order in the State, Law Minister S. Regupathy on Monday said anti-social elements with enmity against others were being monitored closely.

During an interaction with reporters in the Secretariat, he said criminal incidents during the erstwhile AIADMK regime were related to governance, those during the DMK regime was not so. He was responding to concern raised over the law and order situation by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami. Pointing to the rise in population, he said there were crime incidents but the government “could not take responsibility” for them.

“If we are responsible for these incidents, we should be blamed. But, we have been taking steps by mapping the enmity between individuals,” Mr. Regupathy said. The police were investigating a list of anti-social elements and their enmity with others.

When asked about a ‘honour killing’ incident in Dharmapuri district, the Minister said: “We don’t support ‘honour killing’. The Chief Minister will initiate appropriate action against whosoever was involved, he added.

To a query on those getting discharged from juvenile homes being involved in offences, the Minister said they were being monitored. Asked about former anti-social elements getting involved in offences again, he said the police have them under the scanner.

“We have been monitoring them. But, there are new ones. We identify and monitor former anti-social elements. What can we do if there are new ones, when the police are monitoring the history-sheeters. We monitor them too,” he said.

Answering a query on extending protection to political leaders, Mr. Regupathy said the government was not hesitating to extend protection. “None of them have told us that they are under threat,” he added. When asked about the recent appointment of a Director of Prosecution, the Minister said it was government’s decision and he had been appointed on a temporary basis.