Guru puja of Maruthu brothers peaceful

Leaders of various political parties pay homage at memorial at Kalayarkoil

For Daily:27/10/15:Ramanathapuram:Volunteers waiting in queue to pay homage to Maruthu brothers at his memorial in Kalayarkoil in Sivaganga district on Tuesday.Photo:L_BALACHANDAR [with report]

The guru puja of Maruthu Pandiyar brothers, marking the 214th death anniversary of the freedom fighters, passed off peacefully as hundreds of people from the district and neighbouring districts paid homage at their memorial here on Tuesday even as the district police threw a massive security cordon.

Three days after State ministers paid floral tributes to Periya Maruthu and Chinna Maruthu at an official event at their memorial in Tiruppattur, leaders of various political parties and a large number of people, mostly youth, flocked the Samadhi on the occasion of Guru puja and paid their homage.

The Maruthu brothers had ruled the district towards the end of 18th century and were hanged near Tiruppattur bus stand for rebelling against the British. Their mortal remains were laid to rest in front of the Kalayarkoil temple.

Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, Bharatiya Janata Party leader P. Muralidhar Rao, Congress leaders Su Thirunavukarasar and K.V. Thangabalu, All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam founder-leader N. Sethuraman and actor Karunas paid tributes to Maruthu brothers.

No untoward incident

“Everything went off well and there was no untoward incident,” Superintendent of Police M. Durai told The Hindu . Police have made elaborate security arrangements deploying more than 2,000 personnel and installed check-posts at sensitive places. As the event was marred by violence in 2012 when an armed mob, travelling on a hired van, killed Sub-Inspector of Police Alwin Sudhan at Tirupachethi, the district administration had promulgated prohibitory order and banned volunteers from travelling in all types of hired vehicles and on two-wheelers to the memorial site.

An estimated 7,500 people visited the memorial and paid their tributes. Volunteers came in about 600 own vehicles after obtaining passes from police stations in their respective areas, while others travelled in State Transport Corporation buses, the SP said. All the restrictions were strictly implemented and no violation was reported, the SP added.