A statue of Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar was desecrated at Samathuvapuram in Inamkulathur village near Tiruchi by unidentified persons in the early hours on Sunday, triggering tension in the village.
The bust-size statue installed on a pedestal was found sprayed with saffron coloured paint and a garland of footwear was placed around the statue, said police sources. Locals who noticed the desecration assembled in the village and the matter was conveyed to the police personnel.
Police teams immediately rushed to the village and removed the paint and the footwear garland, with the help of locals. As news of desecration of the statue spread, members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Dravidar Kazhagam and other outfits assembled and urged the police personnel to take action against the culprits.
Superintendent of Police, Tiruchi T. Jeyachandran, who personally supervised the situation in the village, told The Hindu that three special teams had been constituted to nab the culprits involved in the act. The spot where the act was committed did not have any surveillance cameras, said the sources.
However, the police teams were involved in the task of sifting through video grabs generated from the surveillance cameras installed in a nearby petrol bunk, Mr. Jeyachandran said adding that police teams had been deployed at the village as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incidents.
The Inamkulathur Police have registered a case under IPC sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 504 (intentional insult with intention to provoke breach of the peace) based on a complaint lodged by the DMK Manikandam union secretary Karuppaiah.
Meanwhile, a group of members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India and the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front staged a demonstration near the Central bus stand here on Sunday condemning the desecration of the statue and demanding the arrest of the accused. The demonstration was led by Vinoth Mani, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Untouchability Front.
