Miscreants desecrated a statue of Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, by splashing a saffron-coloured liquid on it, in Sundarapuram, Coimbatore in the early hours of Friday.
Police sources told The Hindu that the incident occurred at around 5.30 a.m. at a spot where two police personnel were deployed. As it was raining, the policemen had momentarily moved away from the spot when the incident occurred. “Most of it [saffron coloured liquid] was washed away in the rain,” a source said.
Upon hearing of the incident, a group of members from Dravidar Kazhagam and Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) assembled in front of the statue and staged a demonstration demanding action. Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order) of Coimbatore City Police, G. Stalin, visited the spot and assured them that appropriate action would be taken.
Police personnel were deployed in front of six statues of Periyar and three statues of B.R. Ambedkar in the Coimbatore City Police limits on Thursday evening, following the arrest of YouTuber Surenderan in connection with an allegedly derogatory video on Lord Murugan. Following this incident, police security was beefed up at all the nine locations and across the city on Friday morning in anticipation of retaliatory action, according to police sources.
Kuniyamuthur police are investigating the Sundarapuram desecration incident using CCTV footage.
TPDK general secretary K. Ramakrishnan said that protests will intensify if action is not taken by the police at the earliest. In a statement, DMK MLA from Singanallur Assembly constituency N. Karthik condemned the miscreants who “conspired to disrupt public harmony” through this act and urged the State government to take stern action in this regard.
Tirukovilur incident
Meanwhile, at Keezhaiyur near Tirukovilur a statue of Periyar was vandalised by miscreants on Friday, triggering protests by members of the Dravida Kazhagam and DMK.
Police sources said the statue was found desecrated, with a garland of footwear placed around its neck. Local residents spotted the footwear on the statue at around 3 p.m. and it was immediately removed.
Receiving this information, a group of DK and DMK members staged a protest demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits.
