Eight persons, who were arrested in connection with the assault on a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk in Thanjavur and Tiruchi on Saturday, have been remanded to judicial custody.
Pathberiye Gnanaloka Thero was assaulted by a group of persons owing allegiance to Thamizh Desiya Poduvudamai Katchi and Naam Thamizhar Katchi when he was on a study tour along with other students. In Tiruchi, two vans transporting Buddhist monk and other students to the Tiruchi Airport from Thanjavur were also attacked.
In Thanjavur, Pazha Rajendran, State executive committee member of Thamizh Desa Poduvudamai Katchi, Rasu. Muniyandi (48), Thanjavur town secretary of Thamizh Desiya Poduvudamai Katchi, and N. Thyagu (27) were produced before Judicial Magistrate-1 on Saturday night who remanded them in custody. They were later lodged at Papanasam sub-jail.
The three were charged under Sections 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraint), 294 (B) (uttering obscene words), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The police were on the look out for two more persons– Karikalan and Vijay.
A case was registered on a complaint from Vasudevan, maintenance assistant of Big Temple. The police, who detained eight more persons, later released them.
In Tiruchi, C. Cheran, rural district secretary, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and A. Suresh, district deputy secretary, MDMK student wing, were among the five persons arrested under Sections 147, 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons) and 341 and 506 (ii) of IPC.
