Five youth were arrested for attacking the Nilgris district secretary of the Hindu Munnani here on Monday.
According to police sources, the outfit held a meeting late on Sunday evening to discuss its activities, during which some comments were allegedly passed against another community.
Irked by this, five motorcycle-borne youth arrived at the spot and attacked Hindu Munnani district secretary Manjunath, who was rushed to the government headquarters hospital here.
Doctors then referred him to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, Hindu Munnani activists pasted posters at various places in the hill town appealing to shopkeepers to down shutters on Monday morning.
Though a majority of shops were opened after 11 am as tourism activities were at the peak, some remained closed.
Police personnel were deployed around the municipal market and the Ooty Mariamman Temple, where the car festival is to take place on Tuesday.
Based on a complaint lodged by Manjunath, the town police arrested five youth namely Riyaz (28), Pysal (27), Abdul Rahim, (31), Imtiaz (24) and Feroz (20) from Ooty.