RAMANATHAPURAM: Tension ran high at Pappakudi and Kavarankulam in Ramanathapuram taluk after a clash broke out between the two villages on Sunday night. Four persons were injured and admitted to the government Ramanathapuram district headquarters hospital. A posse of police personnel has been deployed to the area.
According to sources, two different communities reside in the villages. On Sunday, a 40-member gang from Kavarankulam allegedly attacked Pappakudi. The gang damaged several tiled-roof houses and set two-wheelers on fire, sources claimed, adding that the two villagers were at loggerheads with each other for over five years, following love marriages between youth of Pappakudi and Kavarankulam.
It is learnt that the Bazaar police on Saturday registered a case against 13 people from both the villages following an altercation that precipitated after youth of Kavarankulam were barred entry to Pappakudi village.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Omprakash Meena said that a mob, armed with wooden clubs, entered Pappakudi around 8.30 pm on Sunday, and went on a rampage – damaging houses, setting vehicles on fire, and thrashing villagers. The SP reached the spot the very night. Four persons sustained severe injuries, and are receiving treatment at the government district headquarters hospital here.
Following the incident, four special teams, headed by the Additional Superintendent of Police, were formed to arrest the attackers, who have since fled their village. Around 3 am, the special teams nabbed 12 people, who were hiding in a ‘karuvelam’ forest area, about three kilometres from the village.
The rest were absconding, the Superintendent of Police said, adding that three cases were registered against the suspects. Also, policemen have been now deployed to both the villages. Meanwhile, residents of Pappakudi village staged a road blockade in front of the government Ramanathapuram district headquarters hospital on Monday morning, alleging police inaction, and seeking the arrest of every one involved in the attack.