A day after returning to the constituency, actor-politician and Thiruvadanai MLA Karunas received a hostile reception when he attended a college function and garlanded the statue of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar near Thiruvadanai bus stand on Saturday evening.
A section of supporters of former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam threw footwear and attacked his car with water bottles when Mr Karunas, leader of the Mukkulathor Pulipadai, went to the bus stand to garland the Thevar statue after attending the college day function of the Government Arts and Science College.
When a group of people, led by V. Kalimuthu, former president of Mavoor, gathered near the bus stand, police, sensing trouble, took them into preventive custody and lodged them in the nearby roadside Kalyana Mandapam.
However, taking the police by surprise, the OPS supporters while being detained in the Mandapam, reached the terrace and threw the footwear and water bottles on the car, eye witnesses said.
Police, however, said that the supporters were gathered at the roadside when they threw chappals and water bottles on the car. Mr. Kalimuthu and 14 of his supporters were booked under sections 147 (rioting) and 427 (causing damage) and they were being remanded in judicial custody, police said.
Earlier, college students and youth who turned up at the Government College booed Mr Karunas when he addressed the function.
Mr. Karunas who returned to the constituency amid police escort faced no problem when he visited some of the areas in RS Mangalam and Thiruvadanai on Friday. The MLA could not be reached for his comments as his mobile phone was switched off.
The actor politician had contested from Thiruvadanai assembly constituency as an ally of the AIADMK and won on the party’s two leaves symbol. He had earned the wrath of the section of the people in the constituency for his staying in the Koovathur beach resort along with other AIADMK MLAs and backing the ‘Sasikala faction.’
When he was staying in the resort, eight former panchayat presidents, including Mr Kalimuthu, had lodged complaint with local police, stating that the MLA had gone missing for the past few days and his whereabouts could not be located. They wanted the police to trace and advise him to visit the constituency to redress the grievances of the drought-affected farmers and people.
