Human Rights panel warns of culture slip

CHENNAI: The Citizens for Human Rights Movement says incidents like the murder of a man on a busy street in Coimbatore in full public view was a pointer to a “new culture” created by an increase in alcoholism, rowdy behaviour and a fancy to emulate movie heroes. The rights council said public apathy worsened the situation.

“This is a new culture for a city like Coimbatore. This should be nipped in the bud, and the district collector and police authorities should ensure that such behaviour is not tolerated”, CJ Rajan, state co-ordinator of the Madurai-based Citizens for Human Rights Movement told ET.

Rajan said “a cinema culture fanned by arms-wielding heroes” was partly to blame for incidents like the murder of the painter in Coimbatore, and that the government should curb the sale of alcohol to rein in such violence.

He said the presence of CCTV cameras at multiple points was turning out to be a blessing, with the Coimbatore incident being the latest crime to be solved with the help of visual footage.

Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission assistant registrar R Shanmugasundaram said the commission would comment on the murder in Coimbatore after getting all the details.