COIMBATORE: The city police on Saturday arrested five persons under the Goondas Act in connection with the violence after the murder of Hindu Munnani functionary C Sasikumar here.
Police said A Vignesh (20) and J Boopathy (23), residing in the Edayar Street here, were arrested for throwing petrol bomb in front of a mosque near LG Thottam. Similarly, K Madhankumar (23), A Saravanan (23), R Kannan (32), residing in Thomas Street, were arrested under the Goondas Act for causing violence in Ukkadam. All the accused were lodged in Vellore Central Prison.
Meanwhile, the CB-CID police have collected the CCTV footage and identified a few persons, who had followed Sasikumar. Simultaneously, a special team has been sent to Tirunelveli and Palakkad to question suspected persons. “Though we have identified a few persons who had followed Sasikumar, we do not have evidence suggesting that they were behind the murder. We are also trying to track their mobile phone signals at the time of the murder,” an officer, who is part of the investigating team, said.
Meanwhile, Sasikumar’s widow Jamuna, who attempted to kill herself by consuming poison, was discharged from the hospital.
In connection with the murder, Muslim organisations have urged Hindu outfits and BJP leaders to stop false propaganda against the Muslim community. They criticised the police for not taking steps to prevent riots.
“From early morning on Friday, mosques and shops belonging to Muslims were attacked and even burnt. The rioting escalated soon after Hindu Munnani leader Subramaniam said Tamil Nadu would become ‘another Gujarat’ if such attacks continue,” K Raja Hussain, coordinator, Federation of All Islamic Movements and Political Parties in Coimbatore, said. The intelligence wing did not give a report to the city or district police about the likelihood of riots and communal tension. Police apathy is the only reason for the increase in communal tension, he added.