THENI: Tension prevailed in Theni and Madurai districts when buses and vans carrying persons to Paramakudi to participate in the 52nd ‘guru pooja’ rituals of the late Dalit leader Emmanuel Sekaran was attacked by a mob at Usilampatti on Friday. Nineteen buses and three vans were damaged. More than 20 persons, including policemen were injured.
Police personnel were posted in sensitive areas. SP M Manohar and others have been camping at Usilampatti.
Dalits from Theni, Allinagaram, Kottur, Seelayampatti, Devaram, Chinnamanoor and other areas of Theni district had been on their way to Paramakudi.
It is alleged that those travelling in vans had shouted slogans while passing the Usilampatti bus stand. This was objected to by some persons from another community who were present there.
What started as an argument, snoballed into a clash in which the windscreens of three vans were damaged. Police prevented the vans from proceeding to Paramakudi and sent them back to Theni. Those returning in the vans pelted stones at nine TNSTC and two private buses on the Andipatti-Usilampatti highway.
Another bus was damaged near the Andipatti checkpost and the miscreants fled.
The public at the bus stand caught five men who were attacking the vehicles in the bus stand and handed them over to the police. Groups resorted to picketing at Seelayampatti and along Theni Usilampatti highway, protesting the attack. All the shops in Theni were shut following the tension. Fifty persons have been taken into custody in connection with the attack and were interrogated. The police had to lathi charge a crowd at Parthibanur when it started pelting stones at the SP’s car. At another place, seven policemen were injured in a mob attack.
Theni SP Balakrishnan, who was on security duty in Parthibanur, proceeded to Usilampatti and while he was speaking to the people from Madurai, his car was stoned and the windscreen was broken.
Leaders pay homage
Paramakudi: Leaders of political parties and communities paid homage to Emmanuel Sekaran at his memorial at Paramakudi on Friday on the occasion of his 52nd death anniversary.
The memorial function was organised by the Devendrakula Velalar Uravinmurai and the Federation of Central and State Government SC, ST Employees.
The daughters of Sekaran, Nehru Vasantharani, Sundari Prabhamani and grandson Dhanushkumar paid floral tributes at the memorial.
Suba Thangavelan, Minister for Slum Clearance, paid homage at the memorial on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Government. K V R Ramprabhu, Congress MLA, and Suba Nagarajan, BJP State president, paid tributes to the late leader. AIADMK was represented by district secretary V Sathiyamoorthy and MDMK by youth wing secretary Alagusundaram. DMDK State treasurer Sundararajan and the PMK president attended.