Life in the native district of former Union Minister of Communication and IT A. Raja came to a complete standstill on Thursday with DMK partymen protesting his arrest and detention in custody by the CBI in the 2G spectrum scam case going on a rampage causing large-scale destruction to public property.
Even as almost all shops and commercial establishments downed shutters for the second day, irate partymen went about damaging more than ten buses, smashing the glass pane of Canara Bank’s ATM along Thuraiyur road, and tearing to bits digital banners of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa put up by the AIADMK partymen to celebrate her birthday at three places in the district. A small group of AIADMK partymen reportedly retaliated by pulling down the ruling party’s digital banner in front of the Perambalur Municipality.
But for the buses passing through the Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway, the entire public transport services right from buses, taxis and share autos came to a grinding halt across the district. Three buses, one after the other, were reportedly damaged in Venkatesapuram Colony. To safeguard their vehicles from further damage, the crew of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation parked a fleet of about 20 buses on the premises of the district Collectorate. The remaining buses were stationed at their depot. The private transport operators also followed suit, confining their buses to their respective depots. Two buses of the Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan group of institutions were among the damaged buses.
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Except the Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan group of institutions, all the other private colleges and schools were reportedly kept closed in the town and its surroundings. However, government schools functioned with about fifty per cent attendance, and those in distant places like Veppanthattai and Ammapettai functioned with near normal attendance, official sources said. School heads expressed hope that the situation will return to normal on Friday.
Earlier in the day, scores of supporters of Mr. Raja took out a procession in a charged atmosphere from his camp office at Palakkarai to the old bus stand. A strong posse of police personnel provided security. Police sources said there were no injuries or casualties in the day-long disturbances. No complaint has been registered, and there has been no arrest so far, police sources added.