Tension prevailed during a Vinayaka idol procession at Berigai on Thursday. According to local people, there was panic when some miscreants allegedly threw footwear on the idol when the procession was passing on Berigai-Shoolagiri road.
Shops and business establishments downed their shutters. Buses and autorickshaws kept off the road.
Meanwhile, over 2,000 cadres of BJP and VHP staged a road blockade on the Berigai-Malur Road and Berigai-Bagalur Road since Friday morning resulting in traffic disruption.
Police also resorted to a mild lathi charge, sources said. A VHP activist attempted self-immolation by dousing petrol which the police thwarted.
T.P. Sundaramoorthy, Inspector General of Police, West Zone, Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Salem, and Superintendent of Police from Dharmapuri, Salem and Tiruvannamalai were camping in the town. Police also conducted flag march. Police arrested A. Barkat, A. Rahmat and A. Alim and remanded them to custody. The police also took into custody over 20 VHP and BJP cadres.
