CHENNAI: With protests against the Union government over the Cauvery issue continuing for more than a week by political outfits, farmers and organisations, Hindi letters on two name boards at Park Suburban Railway Station were defaced with blank ink on Sunday.
Around 1.30 pm, Hindi name boards erected at the southern end of platform no 1 and 2 (towards Chennai Egmore) at the Park Station were found blackened.
The incident came to light an hour after a group of members of the Naam Tamilar Katchi staged a rail blockade at Park Station. The agitators picketed an EMU local train bound for Tambaram to protest the Centre’s delaying tactics on the formation of the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee. They were evicted by police from the station after 10 minutes.
The Periamet Police arrested 10 people under Sections 188 and 151 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act for staging the rail blockade. However, no case was registered for defacing the Hindi writings on the name board.
When contacted, the Periamet Police said they were investigating the case and FIR was not yet registered.
The six-week deadline, fixed by the Supreme Court for setting up a ‘scheme’ for monitoring the water release from the Cauvery, ended on March 29. Since then, major opposition parties -- the ruling AIADMK, farmers associations and other smaller organisations -- have resorted to various forms of protests against the Union government.
Protests in front of the post offices, Dakshina Bharata Hindi Prachar Sabha and railway stations, have also seen a surge in the last few days.
Investigation on
No case was registered for defacing the Hindi writings on the name board. When contacted, the Periamet Police said they were investigating the case and FIR was not yet registered