A mob, suspected to be supporters of history-sheeter M. Kittappa, who was killed in a police encounter on Saturday evening, attacked three Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses in Palayamkottai on Sunday.
Even as the body of Kittappa was kept at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital mortuary, his supporters started gathering near the mortuary since Sunday morning. When a couple of their caste leaders came to the spot, the crowd started flexing muscles and abused the police for killing Kittappa.
With the policemen deployed near the mortuary exercising restraint, the crowd became aggressive towards them. Even as Judicial Magistrate of Cheranmahadevi Mayakrishnan was conducting a probe with the relatives of Kittappa, the mob continued its tirade.
Their behaviour scared the road users, especially those travelling with their family members.
When the crowd reached the road in front of St. Xavier’s College around 1.30 p.m., a member in the crowd threw a bottle on the windscreen of the bus proceeding from Tirunelveli to Sattankulam. Though none was injured in the attack, the passengers got down from the bus in panic. The mob then attacked a TNSTC city bus proceeding to Tirunelveli Town and targeted another bus between Karungulam and Melapalayam.
