KALLAKURICHI: Violence erupted in Kallakurichi on Sunday as a protest, demanding justice for the death of a Class XII girl on the premises of a residential school on July 13, turned violent, with a mob going on a rampage, setting fire to vehicles, indulging in stone-pelting and vandalising the school. The violence disrupted traffic on the arterial Chennai-Salem highway till evening.
Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob and prohibitory orders were clamped in the area. With the arrival of police reinforcements from nearby, the situation gradually returned to normal.
DGP C Sylendra Babu, who told reporters the probe into the girl's death was transferred to the CB-CID, ruled out an intelligence failure. He said that 52 police personnel, including Villupuram DIG M Pandian, were injured in the violence.
What began as a 'road blockade protest' by over 3,000 people on Sunday devolved into full-blown violence and vandalism. Although police had blocked the Salem to Ulundurpet highway, on which the school is located, youth travelled through villages to join the protest, many hailing from other districts.
The police hadn't anticipated such a large crowd and was initially on the backfoot till reinforcements arrived.
The agitators breached police barricades and stormed the premises of the 'international' school and set buses parked on the premises afire. Some parts of the school were ransacked and equipment, including computers, was vandalised.
Some of them even took selfies alongside the burning vehicles. Fire tenders were blocked by the mob and couldn't reach the school, till police brought the situation under control. Some of the protesters even used a tractor-trailer to damage and push over buses.
Several protesters, who climbed to the top of an arch at the school entrance, vandalised the name board and held high banners seeking justice for the dead girl. Others were spotted leaving the school with its furniture before setting them afire on the road.
Sylendra Babu and Home Secretary K Phanindra Reddy rushed from Chennai and inspected the school that bore the brunt of the agitators' ire. The top police official said, based on video footage, those who instigated the violence had been identified and more people connected to it would be held soon.
The vandalism of the school would be probed into separately.
The police would also investigate the suspected role of a particular outfit in mobilising people using social media, he said. Reddy said the government is determined to clear all suspicion in connection with the girl’s death.
"People should not believe in rumours and resort to violence," he said.
The DGP added that police had showed restraint and handled the situation deftly, ensuring there was no loss of life.
"Police already spoke to the protesters and clarified their doubts," he said.
In a press statement, Kallakurichi Collector PN Sridhar also said the district administration had held talks with the protesters several times over the last four days and assured appropriate action.
"The girl's mother also met me with her lawyer and I promised them a fair inquiry and action," he said.
Meanwhile, the girl's mother, speaking to media, thanked the people for their support but urged them not to resort to violence. She was later admitted in Government Hospital at Perambalur after taking ill.
How it all unfolded
July 13
Girl passes away
Relatives protest
July 14
Autopsy conducted
Kin refuse to take body
July 16
Autopsy report released
Relatives protest
Protests planned on social media
July 17
More than 1,000 people gather at school, start rioting
Additional police forces control the riot
DGP inspects school
Case shifted to CB-CID