COIMBATORE: Tension prevailed at a private school near Vilankurichi in the city on Friday after police personnel were allegedly denied permission to enter the premises where an RSS training programme was held.
A large number of police personnel were deployed in front of the school on Friday afternoon after Naam Tamilar Katchi announced that it will stage a protest. Traders in the locality shut their shops fearing untoward incidents.
As many as 19 Naam Tamilar Katchi cadre who tried to stage a protest in front of the school to condemn RSS for holding the training programme. But they were detained by police and released in the evening, said police.
During the protest, a police team including the Deputy Commissioner T Jayachandran (Coimbatore city north) marched towards the school but was blocked by RSS members at the entrance of the school. This triggered a scuffle between police and RSS cadres.
But police denied the incident and said they were not blocked at the school gate. “We did not have intention to enter the premises. We asked RSS cadres to go inside, for avoiding issues during the protest. But they refused. That was the reason for the scuffle,” said Deputy Commissioner T Jayachandran.
Commissioner of Police Pradip Kumar said the person who allegedly prevented police personnel from discharging their lawful duty, will be booked.
Meanwhile, cadre of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam and a few other organizations on Friday submitted a petition to the District Chief Educational Officer (CEO) N Geetha urging her to initiate action against the school for allowing the programme.
TPDK general secretary Ku Ramakrishnan told TNIE, “The private school management allowed RSS members to conduct their training programme. Such activities should be avoided in education institutions.” CEO Geetha said she would look into the issue.
When contacted, the school principal denied the allegations of TPDK and said no organization conducted any training programme in the school premises.