By IANS,
Chennai : Seventeen people, including three women, were arrested Friday in a fishing village here after a fight over money led to a police cane charge in which some people were injured.
Trouble arose in Thazhanguppam fishing village after seven families who had been excommunicated were attacked when they returned after two months. Alleged default of loans led to a fight necessitating a cane charge, police said.
Human rights activist T.S.S. Mani told IANS that police had “needlessly intervened” in what was a purely civil dispute, resulting in serious injuries to 11 people, including four women.
“Four women have been hospitalised in a serious condition. Eleven people suffered bleeding injuries and some of them were hit when they were fleeing the scene by swimming in the sea,” Mani said calling for an impartial probe.
City police commissioner R. Sekar, however, denied the charges.
“Our men used minimum force to disperse an unruly crowd attacking defenceless people. No reports of injuries have been brought to our notice,” Sekar told IANS.