Chennai: A fresh political storm has erupted in Tamil Nadu after a viral video showed senior police officials smiling and appearing relaxed moments before addressing the media on the brutal sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore’s Sulur. The visuals triggered widespread outrage online, with many social media users questioning the “lack of sensitivity” shown during a press conference on one of the state’s most shocking recent crimes.

The controversy comes just hours after Tamil Nadu Industries Minister S Keerthana faced backlash over a similar incident, putting Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s government under intense scrutiny over its handling of the case and the public response of officials.

The now-viral clip from the police press conference shows RV Ramya Bharathi, Inspector General of Police, West Zone, smiling and rubbing her fingernails while seated alongside Coimbatore Range DIG P Saminathan and Coimbatore SP Allatipalli Pavan Kumar Reddy, seconds before journalists began asking questions about the murder investigation.

The expressions and body language seen in the video immediately sparked anger across social media platforms, with users calling the visuals “disturbing”, “insensitive” and “deeply inappropriate” given the gravity of the crime.

“A 10-year-old child was abducted, assaulted and murdered. How can senior officers sit there smiling before a press briefing?” one user wrote.

Several users questioned whether the officers understood the public mood surrounding the case. “Why is she laughing throughout unnecessarily? Officers handling such sensitive crimes should know how to behave in front of the public,” one comment said.

Some users demanded immediate action against the officers, while others said the visuals had damaged public trust in the police response.

“She is unfit for the post,” one user commented bluntly.

However, a few users urged caution before judging the officers solely based on a short clip. One comment suggested that years of working in traumatic situations may sometimes make police officials appear emotionally detached in public interactions.

The outrage first began earlier in the day when Industries Minister S Keerthana was criticised by the BJP over her interaction with reporters on the same case.

During a media interaction after an official meeting, Keerthana declined to answer questions related to the murder and said she would respond only to “administrative questions”. BJP leaders alleged that the minister smiled during the exchange and accused her of showing “extreme insensitivity” while discussing a horrific crime involving a child.

The minister later issued a clarification on X, saying the smile happened only after the media interaction had concluded and that her expression was being “deliberately twisted for political motives”.

Calling the crime “heinous”, Keerthana said the incident had caused “immense pain” and stressed that the government had acted immediately after the case surfaced.

Chief Minister Joseph Vijay ordered swift action, following which police formed five special teams and reviewed more than 250 CCTV recordings. She said the accused were arrested within 24 hours and assured strict action under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

What happened in the Coimbatore murder case?

The outrage comes amid continuing anger over the murder of the 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore’s Sulur area.

Police said the child went missing around 5 pm on May 21 while playing outside her house. After a complaint was filed, investigators launched a large-scale search operation.

Police later identified the main accused as 33-year-old K Karthi, a native of Nagapattinam district who was reportedly known to the victim’s family. Investigators alleged that he lured the child away before committing the crime.

Karthi was later arrested from a hideout inside an apartment complex, while another accused, Mohanraj, was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy.