‘Drunk’ DSP mows down newly-weds

VILLUPURAM: Devanathan (25) and Jaya (21) were looking forward to life together after their marriage a fortnight ago. On Sunday, they got death.The couple died by the roadside at Nattarmangalam village near Gingee after an allegedly drunk police officer — and also a novice at driving — rammed a jeep into them.Sources said the Chengam DSP was driving the jeep when the incident occurred. The DSP, Murugan, was going to Chennai into a police jeep. He was allegedly inebriated but at the wheels, learning to drive. Police jeep driver Yousuf Khan was seated behind him, the sources said.Around 6 am, Devanathan of Gengarampattu and Jaya were going to his village on a motorcycle. They reportedly saw the swaying police jeep and halted their bike on the side of the road, waiting for the jeep to pass. However, the jeep hurtled their way and hit them. The couple died on the spot.The DSP and the driver were admitted to Government General Hospital in Gingee. Demanding immediate arrest of the policemen, locals blocked traffic on the Thiruvannamalai-Tindivanam road for nearly three hours. Over 500 people assembled at Kalaiyur village and disrupted traffic in protest.Superintendents of Police Amalraj (Villupuram) and Balakrishnan (Thiruvannamalai), DSPs Rajendran (Gingee), Kumar (Tindivanam) and Jayabalan (Prohibition and Enforcement Wing) rushed to the spot and pacified the locals.