Chennai: A 32-year vernacular TV channel reporter Ramesh Kumar, and his camera person Karuppiah filed a police complaint, alleging assault by AIADMK cadre while they attempted to expose cash distribution on Wednesday for the bypoll in Erode East constituency.
The duo was also assaulted by ruling DMK cadre on Tuesday while they went live to expose them allegedly violating the poll code. Visuals of politicians hitting and shoving Ramesh and trying to take away the camera have been circulating on social media.
Erode deputy superintendent of police S Anandakumar confirmed that an FIR has been filed. “We don’t wish to divulge the sections under which we have filed the case. Since it is related to the by-elections, we have informed the election authorities,” the DSP said
Ramesh narrated what had happened over the last two days to HT from the government hospital in Erode where he is being treated for injuries on his back, head, neck and arms. Ramesh and Karuppiah were at a tea-shop when a local told them that there were about 100 people in front of a house near the tea shop who were being given cash to vote for them in the bypoll.
When Ramesh went to the spot ,100 people were waiting with their voter IDs and when he saw some men giving them cash, he called for his camera person. By the time Karuppiah started white balancing (in photography and filming to balance colours) before recording, they were swamped. “It took hardly ten seconds, one guy asked who we were, another told us to stop, another screamed at us to remove the camera,” said Ramesh.
One person led him by his arm politely telling them that they needed to talk. “Once they took us inside his tone completely changed. He twisted my arm. They broke our camera. About 15 men beat both of us black and blue,” said Ramesh.While they tried to run away, his cameraman managed to escape but Ramesh fell down. “They stomped me on my back,” said Ramesh. “They were punching me and kicking me in random parts of my body so I’m injured severely.”
Eventually Ramesh was able to run away. He called up Tamil Nadu’s police helpline 100 who came to the spot. A government ambulance picked up him and his camera person. They have lodged a police complaint but have not yet made a complaint with the election authorities in Erode.
While they were being hit the men, Ramesh said, asked them why they were not recording other parties also distributing cash. “We are not differentiating between parties. Our office has supported us to go live whenever we find violations committed by whichever party.”
On Tuesday, Ramesh went live from a site where he says Congress has set up sheds to keep voters there from 8am to 8pm so that the opposition camp does not meet them. Congress has refuted this. “But, I took interviews of old women who said they were paid ₹500, food and tea every day for the past ten days for staying inside the temporary sheds,” Ramesh said. “DMK party cadre punched my camera person on his hip and they twisted my arm but they let us go saying that only party cadres are inside the sheds.”
The AIADMK and DMK have not yet reacted to the case.
Complaints of poll-code violations ranging from cash distribution to voters to political parties assaulting rival party cadres are flooding the election authorities for the Erode East by-election. The complaints are against the DMK and their Congress candidate, the AIADMK and NTK. As of Tuesday 455 complaints have been received. Vijayakanth’s DMDK has petitioned Tamil Nadu’s chief electoral officer seeking cancellation alleging that the DMK and AIADMK are bribing voters. The by-poll is slated for February 27. DMK has fielded their ally Congress’s candidate EVKS Elangovan who will be in direct contest with K S Thennarasu from the Edappadi Palaniswami led AIADMK. NTK and DMDK are also in the fray.
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