SRIVILLIPUTHUR: T Ramachandran, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Srivilliputhur, has blamed police stations for the rash of caste clashes taking place in this area.

Ramachandran who came to Srivilliputhur on transfer from Chennai was addressing a Legal Aid camp conducted at Pattakulam, near here, on Thursday.

He said members of the public came to police station seeking justice. They should be asked to sit and inquiries made. If people come to the police station saying that a member of a particular caste had assaulted him, action should be taken against the complainant. People should be encouraged to complain against individuals in their name and not identified by caste.

Referring to the murder that took place at Idayankulam near here, he said that the people of the village demanded that the RDO should come first there. Was it because the people had lost faith in the police department, he asked. But he was able to persuade the villagers to enable the police to remove the body.

The DSP said that if anyone felt that a police station was not functioning properly, they should bring it to his notice personally and if the police stations were found to have shirked their responsibility, they would be dealt with severely.

Stating that the police personnel were receiving their salary from the taxes paid by the people, he said that policemen should function as effectively even in the absence of their superior officers. They should try to ensure that the poor people are not made to approach courts, since it would only add to their poverty, Ramachandran added.