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‘Probe ordered against sub-inspector’: Greater Chennai Police on tricolour row

The Greater Chennai Police said this was an isolated incident, and spectators were seen freely carrying and displaying the Indian tricolour inside the stadium

Updated on: Oct 24, 2023 02:26 PM IST
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CHENNAI: An inquiry has been ordered into the conduct of a police sub-inspector following allegations that he did not allow a batch of spectators into the MA Chindambaram Stadium with a tricolour, the Greater Chennai Police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday evening.

BJP leaders rushed to criticise the police, the MK Stalin government and the opposition grouping INDIA, allleging that there were instructions in place not to allow the tricolour into the stadium (X/MrSinha_)
BJP leaders rushed to criticise the police, the MK Stalin government and the opposition grouping INDIA, allleging that there were instructions in place not to allow the tricolour into the stadium (X/MrSinha_)

The police statement was a response to the barrage of criticism over allegations on social media that security personnel deployed at the stadium had stopped spectators from carrying the Indian national flags inside ahead of the Pakistan-Afghanistan World Cup match. The accusation was primarily based on one video clip in which a police officer was seen retrieving two flags from a dustbin and taking it to the police vehicle while bystanders asked why the flags were discarded in the first place.

“Enquiry has been initiated against the SI concerned deployed for bandobust duty at MAC Stadium . He was recalled to Control Room. Appropriate action as per law will be taken based on the findings,” the city police said in a statement on X.

“Though they’ve failed miserably in this misadventure, the DMK Govt today stooped to an all-new low by banning entry to our Country’s Tricolour inside the Chepauk stadium,” Annamalai posted on X on Monday. “They hate everything about this great nation, from Sanatana Dharma to our sovereignty and wish to remain a parrot of our coloniser.”

The city police rebutted this charge, underlining that this was an isolated incident of a police officer prohibiting a spectator from carrying the Indian flag to a Pakistan-Afghanistan match.

“Apart from this solitary incident, no other reported . It is observed that many spectators are freely carrying and displaying the Indian tricolour inside the stadium,” the police statement said.

To be sure, many on social media appreciated the spectators in Chennai for their sportsmanship and cheering for players of Pakistan and Afghanistan during the match and wearing their jerseys besides carrying the Indian tricolour and wearing blue jerseys.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Divya Chandrababu

Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.

Follow India news real-time updates and the latest news covered on Hindustan Times, featuring today's critical updates on Sonam Wangchuk LIVE and more across India.
Follow India news real-time updates and the latest news covered on Hindustan Times, featuring today's critical updates on Sonam Wangchuk LIVE and more across India.
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