Unidentified persons set fire to old tyres and junk in front of three temples in Coimbatore late on Friday, causing minor damage and triggering agitations from pro-Hindu organisations.
The vandalism was reported in front of Mahaliamman temple on NH Road at Five Corner junction, at the Vinayagar temple in front of Coimbatore railway station and at another Vinayagar temple in Nallampalayam.
In all the incidents, miscreants set ablaze tyres and clothes in front of the temples, causing minor damage.
A trident in front of the Mahaliamman temple was found bent, and the remains of burnt tyres were also found on its premises. Visuals from a surveillance camera close to Mahaliamman temple showed a man collecting old tyres in front of a nearby puncture shop, and setting them ablaze in front of the temple.
G. Stalin, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Coimbatore city police, said that investigations were under way to trace the miscreants who attempted to vandalise the temples at Five Corner junction and the one in front of the railway station. The Coimbatore rural police are investigating the vandalism attempt reported in front of the temple at Nallampapalaym.
On Friday, a statue of Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy at Sundarapauram in Coimbatore was found splashed with a saffron-coloured liquid . A member of Bharat Sena, a fringe right wing organisation, surrendered before the police claiming responsibility for the incident.
