KRISHNAGIRI: M Arumugam, the candidate of the little-known Bharatiya Praja Aikyata Party, which has been allotted the sugarcane and farmer symbol that was till now held by Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), was assaulted allegedly by NTK cadres in Krishnagiri on Thursday afternoon.
Arumugam’s (picture) SUV was waylaid at around 1 pm at a place near Gummanur Road by a few bike-borne gang.
“Twenty men who arrived on 10 motorcycles waylaid our vehicle. The miscreants asked me to withdraw my nomination on Saturday so that I could not contest on the ‘sugarcane farmer symbol’ which was used by the NTK earlier. The gang even threatened to kill me.”
The 51-year-old was returning after attending the scrutiny of the nomination papers at the Krishnagiri district collectorate when he was targeted. He is the Tamil Nadu chief coordinator of the Dravida Telugu Desam Party. Narrating the events leading to the attack Arumugam said, “On Wednesday, four NTK cadres who were with their Krishnagiri candidate Vidya Rani Veerappan followed me from Collectorate to Rayakottai flyover in Krishnagiri. Similarly, on Thursday during the nomination scrutiny at the Collectorate, one of the four cadres asked me whether my nomination was accepted or rejected. Fearing something amiss, I asked my friend who came to the Collectorate to drop us off near Hosur.”
“My friend K Anbalagan (50) who was accompanying me was also assaulted. Luckily they were unable to open the side door of the vehicle, but they managed to punch us through the rear door,” Arumugam added.
“Later when we tried to videograph them they fled from the spot. I then got admitted to the Hosur government hospital,” he added. Arumugam has an abrasion near his neck and has pain near his chest, said a hospital staff.