The three-day Thevar jayanthi, marking the 109th birth anniversary and the 54th guru puja (death anniversary) of freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar, passed off peacefully on Sunday as the district police threw a massive security cordon, deploying about 6,000 police personnel.
After the district administration clamped prohibitory order, invoking Section 144 of the Cr. PC, banning all types of hired vehicles from carrying volunteers to the memorial here and imposed restrictions, the police deployed personnel and posted pickets at all the sensitive places.
Police technical wing monitored movement of vehicles and crowd through digital eyes by installing CCTV cameras and setting up ‘online check-posts’ on the district borders. For the first time, the district police pressed into service Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) camera-fitted vehicles to keep a close vigil on the crowd and vehicles.
Centre for Aerospace Research, Madras Institute of Technology, Anna University, deployed a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a latest technology innovation in the UAVs, and helped the police in security management. The UAV, with a hi-tech camera, covered an area of five square kilometres in and around Pasumpon and beamed photos with resolution in centimetre.
The police deployed bomb disposal and sniffer dog squads and carried out anti-sabotage checks at the memorial and other sensitive areas. ‘Everything went off peacefully,” Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan told The Hindu .
Collector S. Natarajan thanked the police and revenue officials for their strenuous efforts for the peaceful conduct of Thevar jayanthi.
Additional Director General of Police J.K. Tripathy camped here and monitored the security, while Inspector Generals of Police S. Murugan (south zone), K. Periaiah (Home Guard) and S. Davidson Devasirvatham (Police Welfare), DIGs Kapil Saratkar (Ramanathapuram range) and Anand Kumar Somani (Madurai) supervised the security after dividing the district into 13 zones.
Each zone was headed by an SP and Tiruvarur SP N.M. Mylvahanan, who had served in the district for three years, oversaw security in five sectors, including the sensitive Paramakudi sector.
Torch rallies, mulaipari and milk pot processions and padayatras were confined within Pasumpon as part of security measures. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operated additional bus services to the memorial for the benefit of people.
