Tense moments prevailed in the Athupalayam area on Monday after an idol at a roadside temple was found damaged and the local residents blocked the busy Palakkad Road for nearly five hours demanding action against the miscreants who damaged the idols.
The temple priest noticed the idol, installed in front of the temple near the Kuniamuthur High School on Palakkad Road, around 6 am. As the word spread, hundreds of devotees gathered at the spot.
Members of various Hindu organisations too reached the spot. Around 10 am, nearly 250 locals, squatted on the Palakkad Road in front of the temple demanding quick action by police to arrest those responsible for the act.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, K Ramakrishnan, and Deputy Commissioner Pravesh Kumar tried to pacify the protestors but they were unrelenting till 3 pm. Finally, Revenue Divisional Officer Santha Kumar and City Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan came to the spot and assured them of action against the miscreants.
Meanwhile, a section of local residents belonging to the Muslim community picked up an argument with the police officers after an empty ambulance passing through the road was stopped by a functionary of a Hindu outfit. Traffic was affected on the Palakkad Road up to Kovaipudur due to the protest. The situation returned to normal after the protestors dispersed around 3.30 pm.
Kuniamuthur police registered a case.