Prohibitory order was clamped in Srivaikundam taluk in the district on Wednesday following a series of agitations which were triggered by the murder of Puthiya Tamilagam functionary M. Baskar on Sunday night.
Since the relatives of the deceased, who refused to accept the body demanding the arrest of all those directly involved in the murder and also the person allegedly planning these attacks and giving shelter to the assailants, have been agitating since Sunday night, normal life has come to a standstill in the region. As bus services to several villages around Srivaikundam were suspended following the murder, transportation from the villages to nearby areas was completely paralysed.
The worst-affected are the students going to schools and colleges. Demanding resumption of bus services, around 300 people from a few villages around Srivaikundam blocked road near Kallapiraan Temple and the agitation went on for more than an hour.
Superintendent of Police M. Durai, who rushed to the spot, held talks with the protestors and pacified them with the assurance that normalcy would return from Wednesday as the relatives of the deceased were expected to accept the body. The protestors gave up their agitation after an hour.
Meanwhile, around 150 persons affiliated to various Dalit outfits gathered at Alwarthirunagari intersection and blocked traffic on Tiruchendur Road, demanding the immediate arrest of all those involved in the murder. They also demanded the arrest of the person, “who was orchestrating the murders of Dalits with the help of unemployed youths of his caste”. Following the agitation, operation of buses on Tirunelveli–Tiruchendur highway was affected for nearly 30 minutes.
The protestors, who gave up the road roko, went to KTK Nagar near Srivaikundam, where the house of Baskar is located, and started an indefinite fast.
