Chennai: Ex-ABVP president & oncologist arrested in 2020 woman harassment case

Former national president of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Dr Subbiah Shanmugam, an oncologist by qualification, was arrested by the Chennai police on Saturday in connection with a woman harassment case registered in July 2020.

Dr Subbiah had hit the headlines when he was caught on a CCTV camera allegedly urinating outside the house of an elderly widow in an apartment complex in Chennai following the escalation of a dispute over the use of a parking lot. He was also accused of throwing garbage including a used facemask outside her house.

Although a police complaint was lodged against him, the then AIADMK government, apparently under pressure, sought to work out a compromise and put the case in cold storage. Dr Subbiah had claimed he did not indulge in the harassment.

Despite the controversy, Dr Subbiah was appointed Member of the Board of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Madurai). He was working as an oncologist in Chennai Government Hospital. Recently the state government suspended him from service for participating in political activities in violation of service conditions.

On Saturday, the Chennai police acted on the old complaint and arrested him. In the original FIR, Dr Subbiah was booked under section 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) and section 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code and under the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Women Harassment Act.