Members of Popular Front of India (PFI) courted arrest when they attempted to stage a protest at the Collectorate here on Wednesday, protesting alleged police excesses in the district.
Led by Kalith Mohamed, PFI State vice-president and E. Abdul Nazar, district secretary, the volunteers assembled at Sandai Thidal and attempted to take a procession towards the Collectorate when the were arrested for violating police orders. Police said that 134 people, including PFI office-bearers, were arrested for violating the prohibitory order in the district. They were detained in a marriage hall and released in the evening.
The protest was against “police excesses in the district in general and Thirupullani division in particular, Mr. Nazar said. The immediate provocation was the recent detention of 11 PFI members by the Thirupullani police in connection with the attack on Raisudhin in Devipattinam, he said.
Based on a complaint lodged by Riasudhin, who was an anti-social element, police kept in detention 11 PFI office-bearers for several hours before arresting three of them, though they had nothing do with the attack incident, he said. The Thirupullani police had foisted eight cases against PFI members in the last one year, he said.
