KALLAKURICHI: Two brothers, who were among those arrested in connection with the riot that took place at Kaniyamoor near Kallakurichi in the aftermath of the death of a Class 12 girl, denied the charges filed against them and said their dreams of landing a government job were shattered due to the arrest. S Kudiarasu (26), a post graduate in mathematics, and S Vasanth (25), a mechanical engineering graduate, of Gandhi Nagar in Chinnasalem were among the 335 arrested after the riot on July 17 following the death of the girl from Sakthi Matriculation school in Kaniyamoor. On Friday evening, they came out under conditional bail.
According to Kudiarasu, on the day of the riot they both went to Kallakurichi by a bike to attend a model exam for TNPSC group 4 examination. They had applied for the TNPSC exam, which was scheduled to be held a week after their arrest, said Vasanth.After completing the exam, they went to their aunt’s house at Thenkiranur as they heard about the riot. “In the morning we saw people marching towards the school. After we heard the riot was over, we started to our home from Thenkiranur. We even checked with the police at Emapper and Indili junctions whether we could proceed,” said Kudiarasu.
However, they were stopped by police when they reached near the school, Kudiarasu recalled. “We showed them our hall ticket, but they tore and threw them away. We were taken in a police vehicle and at the station only we came to know that we were booked in connection with the riot,” he added.
Speaking to TNIE, their father N Selvaraj said, “We started searching for them as they didn’t return. Later, we came to know about their arrest and that they were remanded in jail.” Selvaraj, a sanitary worker in Chinnasalem town panchayat, and his wife S Malliga, a homemaker, are now worried over the future of their sons as they were booked under thirteen sections of the IPC. “We have already shown the police the CCTV footage from tollgates and the exam centre, to prove that our sons are innocent,” said the couple.
A senior police official from Kallakurichi said the duo was arrested from the spot immediately after the riot. “We helped their family in getting bail after they approached us. We can’t say they were not involved in the riot based on the proof that their parents submitted,” the official said, and added that the Special Investigation Team investigation which is probing the case has to confirm it.