Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 8 (PTI) Police personnel on Manaveeyam road, a street in the state capital known for hosting food stalls, street theatre, exhibitions, and art works, came under stone pelting in the early hours of Wednesday by drunken revellers who objected to orders to shut off loudspeakers post midnight.
One officer and a woman were injured in the stone pelting but their injuries are not very serious, an officer said.
Taking a serious note of the incident, Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam said people could enjoy the night life, but "it cannot mean a free for all".
He said this was not the first such incident, and added that enjoying night life does not mean people can get drunk and do anything.
Speaking to reporters here, the commissioner said there have been some problematic incidents recently.
"We will address them soon. We arrested one person in connection with an earlier incident. We have arrested one person in connection with the latest incident. We will take action accordingly in future also," he said.
The officer further said that as the crowds grow larger, such incidents are bound to happen and what is required is a quick response to ensure that the situation does not escalate.
"Yesterday, the police responded quickly. There was a drunken brawl a couple of days ago around 2.30am. To prevent such incidents, yesterday we dispersed people whom we found to be drunk.
"Those people came back and pelted stones at the police. An officer and a lady were injured in the incident," he said.
The Commissioner also made it clear that if these instances continue to happen, restrictions placed by police will also increase.
"We are also testing to find out what should be done to prevent such incidents. Maybe we will deploy drug detection kits and breath analysers. So restrictions will increase. If people remain within their limits, we will not impose restrictions.
"We want people to come and have fun, and are ready to ensure they can enjoy the night life. But it cannot be a free for all. There have to be reasonable restrictions," he said.
The officer also pointed out that as per the noise pollution rules, microphones, loudspeakers and drums are prohibited after 10 pm. "One person's enjoyment should not turn into a disturbance for another," he added.
He said that what needs to be done will be done to ensure that disorderly people do not create problems.
The latest incident of stone-pelting against the police followed their direction to stop the use of loudspeakers after midnight, an officer of Museum police station said.
Some persons who were drunk then created a ruckus and started smashing the chairs of establishments in the area, the officer said.
When the police intervened, they threw stones at the officers, he said.
Police also said that CCTV footage of the area is being examined to see what happened and who else was involved in the incident.
Last week a fight had reportedly broken out between two groups in the same area. PTI HMP HMP ANE
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