THOOTHUKUDI: An independent candidate allied with the Bahujan Dravida Party (BDP) sought police protection on Tuesday alleging that certain youngsters in Keezha Thattaparai attempted to attack him. In his complaint lodged with the Thattaparai police, Thoothukudi Lok Sabha candidate Asiriyar Shanmugasundaram Singh (37), who had recently embraced Sikhism, said that the youngsters had verbally abused him over his religious identity and attempted to attack him.
Shanmugasundaram, who also submitted a petition to District Election Officer-cum-Collector G Lakshmipathy, said that the attack took place while he was campaigning in Keezha Thattaparai around 6 pm on Monday. According to the petition, when the candidate was exiting the street, one of the youths, who had been standing by the bridge in the area, passed an abusive comment targeting his Sikh identity, and tried to stab him with a broken glass bottle. However, he managed to escape and later lodged the police complaint.
Meanwhile, the Thattaparai police have registered a case against the accused, who has been identified as Ajith of Keezha Thattaparai. Speaking to TNIE, Shanmugasundaram said that the accused was in an inebriated state while passing the abusive comments, and added that a similar incident had occurred when he was campaigning in Ottapidaram earlier.
"In Ottapidaram, a person among the public threatened one of my supporters asking not to popularise my election campaigns. Hence, I urge the police to assign a gunman to ensure my safety," Shanmugasundaram said.
It may be noted that BDP has fielded seven Sikh candidates in the southern districts for the upcoming polls. They have been campaigning to popularise the principles of Kanshi Ram and Periyar, and pressing for the need to ensure social equality and equity to usher transformation, sources said.