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Dial 100, get slapped

Dial 100, get slapped

On the night of July 28, near a Tasmac outlet by Gandhi Market in Tiruchy, a lively street brawl was in progress — fists flying, voices raised, and not a ticket booth in sight. A passing youth, clearly suffering from a bout of civic responsibility, dialled the police helpline '100' to prevent matters from becoming the next day's headlines. Moments later, a sub-inspector from Gandhi Market station arrived, surveyed the chaos… and allegedly decided the real danger was the caller himself. One slap and a threat of a case later, the youth was left wondering why he'd bothered. 'I would hesitate to call the police in future incidents due to the unpleasant experience,' he said.
P Thiruselvam
Return of a legend
It began like any other campaign day at the Tirunelveli BJP district office — until a car rolled in with the number plate 'TN 61 AK 4777'. This was no ordinary plate; it was the legendary number once used by AIADMK founder and late CM MG Ramachandran himself. The van, sourced from Ariyalur and polished to a campaign sheen in Jayankondam, had been arranged for state BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran. The moment he spotted it, Nagenthran hopped into the driver's seat. Within seconds, the engine roared, party workers shouted slogans, and the 4777 legend was back on the road.
Thinakaran Rajamani
Caught off guard
The launch of State Education Policy came with a plot twist — and not everyone had read the script. When a reporter asked if Classes 11 and 12 would continue as usual, the school education minister confidently said the status quo will remain. Within seconds, the school education secretary dropped a clarification that the exam has been scrapped. The minister didn't miss a beat though, answering the rest of the questions as if nothing had happened. At the end of the press meet, the minister turned to the same reporter, leaned in as if he was revealing the ending of a suspense thriller, and said, 'Class 11 board exam has been scrapped.'
Subashini Vijayakumar
Mopping up support
At the Vellore collectorate, TN Sanitation Workers' Welfare Board chairman Thippampatti V Aruchamy was in fine form — announcing schemes, listening to grievances, and slipping in a campaign plug like it was part of the agenda. 'You vote us to power next year, we will come up with more schemes,' he promised, calling the sanitation workers the 'eyes of the city'. The applause was warm and the message was clear: take the scheme now, remember the favour later.
Nimisha Pradeep
(Compiled by Adarsh TR, Dinesh Jefferson E)
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