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Tamil Nadu: Tirupur police take offence to visitors wearing nighty, shorts, lungi

TIRUPUR: The city police of the textile town have come up with a dress code for visitors to police stations , prohibiting lungi , shorts and nighty .

The code imposed in three stations in Tirupur would be expanded to other stations depending on the feedback from the public.

But senior police officers said it is advisory in nature and people in distress, who visit the stations to lodge complaint, would not be turned away just because they were wearing a lungi or a nighty.

“The code is primarily intended for rowdy elements, who visit police stations,” said an inspector of a station where the dress code is imposed.

Notices have been stuck in front of the stations at Thirumuruganpoondi, Veerapandi and an all-woman police station, stating none should enter the premises wearing shorts or nighty. Though lungi was not mentioned, station personnel said that they discourage it also. The officers said that the measure would help maintain decorum.

Tirupur police commissioner Sanjay Kumar said that police stations are government offices. “As there are restrictions and dress code for the visitors in government offices, some police stations in the city have introduced the dress code. It is not mandatory.”

However, the move has invited criticism because Tirupur has a large labour population, who wear lungi and nighty. A lawyer pointed out that people from the lower rungs of the society have been visiting even the collectorates to submit petitions wearing lungi. “Teary-eyed harassment victims often visit police stations to lodge complaint. They enter the stations with what they wear in their house, like nighty,” said former director general of police and Mylapore MLA R Nataraj. “In case of shorts, tourists from foreign countries could be seen wearing them. It is not appropriate to insist on a dress code for visitors.”

Advocate K Padmanaban said that such an instruction, even if advisory in nature, was not acceptable as it may deter people from lodging complaints. “Someone, who was harassed, would be in a state of deep distress. They cannot be expected to dress appropriately before seeking police help,” he said.

The commissioner said that anyone in dire need to lodge a complaint can approach the police stations irrespective of the nature of their attire, but people accompanying them shall have to wear proper dress.

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