Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Feeding programme ends in violence

By S. Sundar

Former Minister, T. Kiruttinan, winces as a policeman rains a blow on him in Madurai on Friday. — Photo: K. Ganesan

MADURAI AUG. 9. Violence erupted at the inauguration of a community feeding programme for `jobless' weavers, organised by the DMK, when some AIADMK volunteers, aided by the police, stopped distribution of gruel at Sellur here this morning. Under pressure from the AIADMK and the police, the DMK members wound up the gruel centre.

Five DMK leaders, including, the former Minister, T. Kiruttinan, who sustained injuries following a lathicharge, were admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital. A few uniformed personnel were also injured.

Nearly 100 DMK men, including the former Assembly Speaker, P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan, and the Madurai Mayor, C. Ramachandran, were arrested. They were later remanded to 15 days judicial custody.

Trouble started when the ruling partymen, led by the former Minister, Valarmathi Jebaraj, and the district secretary, M. S. Pandiyan, who organised a biryani feeding programme 200 metres away from the gruel centre, confronted the DMK workers and threw stones at them.

The skeletal police personnel present were mute witness to the incident. The Police Commissioner, M.V.N. Suryaprasad, who arrived 15 minutes after the trouble started, tried to stop the AIADMK men, but the stone throwing continued, even as the DMK leaders appealed to the police to stop the assault.

When Mr. Suryaprasad asked Mr. Ramachandran to wind up the function, the DMK members offered to court arrest.

Even as the former Speaker, P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan, was walking towards the police van, the DMK men insisted that they be allowed to `register' the inauguration of their centre.

But Mr. Suryaprasad stopped the gruel distribution and the police chased away the DMK cadres, who retaliated by throwing chairs at them. Onlookers and women, who had assembled for gruel, were also chased away.

The police picked up some weavers.

The violence left the DMK functionary, Saleem, with a bleeding head and Mr. Kiruttinan crying for help.

A woman councillor, Chinnammal, came to Mr. Kiruttinan's rescue, while Mr. Saleem was shifted to a police vehicle.

Gruel and rice (meant for distribution) were strewn all over the place and shutters of shops in the vicinity were brought down. Later, the AIADMK members continued with the biriyani feeding programme.

DMK workers alleged that the AIADMK volunteers shifted their biryani distribution camp closer to the gruel centre with the intention of creating trouble.

On hearing of the violence, the DMK leader, M.K. Stalin, who was scheduled to attend the function, proceeded to Dindigul, where he told reporters that the police gave protection to the AIADMK workers who attacked the DMK functionaries.

In Chennai, the DMK general secretary, K. Anbazhagan, condemned the police action.

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