Nearly 250 DMK cadre were detained and removed across the district on Wednesday when they staged protests at various places condemning the arrest of seven party workers on the charges of disrupting the police raid which led to seizure of gutka at a pan masala manufacturing unit at Kannampalayam near Sulur on Saturday.
As many as 167 DMK workers, including former Minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy were detained when they attempted lay siege to the office of the Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore District (Rural) on State Bank Road.
Traffic on State Bank Road was disrupted for nearly an hour as protesters were blocked by the police in front of SP office. They raised slogans condemning the police action stating that the case was falsely implicated on the cadre and demanded to withdraw cases registered against 10 persons, including Singanallur MLA N. Karthik. Of these, seven persons, including former president of Kannampalayam town panchayat Thalapathy Murugesh were arrested and remanded on Tuesday.
Senior leaders led by Mr. Palanisamy were permitted to meet Superintendent of Police Pa. Moorthy at his office. Emerging from the office after the meeting, Mr. Palanisamy said that the police registered fake cases against the 10 persons who had gone to oversee the raid and arrested seven of them. He said that the police made false statement against Murugesh accusing him of having link with the owner of the pan masala unit. “It is inappropriate for the SP to accuse Murugesh of having aided the unit owner as the investigation has just begun. The officer was forced to issue the false statement Murugesh following pressure,” alleged Mr. Palanisamy, calling for CBI inquiry into seizure of gutka at Kannampalayam.
He added that DMK working president M.K. Staling will take part in protests condemning the arrests in the city on May 4 if cases against the 10 persons are not withdrawn.
In Coimbatore rural, the police detained and removed 73 DMK workers who staged protests condemning the arrests.
Meanwhile, Mr. Karthik and party worker Mathappur Thangaraju moved the vacation court in Coimbatore for anticipatory bail. Sundaram is the third person remaining untraced in the case. The seven persons arrested have moved the Sulur Magistrate Court seeking bail.
The Sulur police on Wednesday submitted a petition seeking custody of B. Raghuraman (45) of Kannampalayam, manager of the manufacturing unit for further interrogation.
