Thiruvananthapuram, November 23: Yathish Chandra, the 33-year-old IPS officer, is known as the "Dabanng" officer in the police circles. The officer, who is in news following the video showing him stopping union minister Pon Radhakrishnan and a group of BJP supporters at Sabarimala, is hugely popular thanks to his daring acts and has quite a presence on social media, especially on Facebook. Yathish Chandra is a 2011 batch IPS officer. Sabarimala Temple Row: BJP, RSS Workers Protest Outside Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s House Against Detention of Devotees.

Junior finance minister at Centre, Pon Radhakrishnan, was accompanied by his supporters at the Nilakkal base camp near Sabarimala temple on Wednesday.  The minister was in his private vehicle in the already sensitive temple area, which has seen heavy police deployment due to the protests by groups opposing Supreme Court's order allowing entry of women of all age group in the Sabarimala temple. This is when the cop stops him and confronts the minister, refusing to give in the minister's demand for allowing his vehicle near the temple area.

Watch the video of the cop's confrontation with the minister in the tweet below:

As the video shows, the cop engages the minister and handles the situation in a way that not only prevented a conflict but also stopped the minister's vehicle from entering the sensitive area. The police officer stopped the minister and his group of supporters just before the Sabarimala temple, and his act is winning him laurels as well as critics on the social media.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2018 10:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).