Three men broke through police barricades on Kamarajar Salai in Chennai on Wednesday morning and rushed toward the convoy of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay as he travelled from his Neelankarai residence to the state secretariat. Security personnel and commandos quickly intercepted the men, and the convoy resumed its journey without further incident. Officials stated that the men appeared to be trying to draw the chief minister’s personal attention rather than posing a real security threat.
The men were identified as relatives of Akash, a young man from Sivaganga district who died after being taken into police custody for questioning in March. The family has been staging protests along the chief minister’s route to seek justice and accountability, following the CBCID’s registration of a case against six police officers in connection with the death. The protest coincided with a Tamil Nadu assembly debate on the police department’s budget demands, a portfolio held directly by Vijay, who is scheduled to respond on Monday.
This incident follows a previous security scare in July, when a man rushed toward Vijay’s convoy during a visit to Karur. The actor-turned-politician previously ordered a scaled-back convoy protocol to avoid holding up ordinary commuters, a travel style that has reduced VIP disruption while drawing concern from security officials.