TENKASI: More than 100 residents of Chinthamani village staged a hours-long protest on the side of the Thirumangalam-Kollam National Highway from the early hours of Friday, demanding the arrest of four youths from a different community who allegedly attacked a 25-year-old man following an argument on parking of vehicles.
They withdrew the protest in the afternoon after police arrested all four accused persons.
The protesters briefly blocked the highway, disrupting traffic for some time. More than 100 police personnel were deployed in the area as a precautionary measure to prevent the incident from triggering caste tension.
According to sources, around 30 residents from four families of Chinthamani were preparing to start in two vans around 10.30 pm on Thursday to attend an annual church festival at Kamanayakkanpatti near Kovilpatti. At that time, three youths from another community who were on their two-wheeler allegedly confronted them over the vans occupying a portion of the road. “As the argument intensified, the two groups allegedly engaged in a scuffle. S Alishtar Jacob (25) reportedly recorded the incident on his mobile phone. Enraged over this, the three youths, along with their accomplice, allegedly attacked Jacob,’ said sources. Jacob sustained severe injuries and was admitted to the Government Hospital, Puliyangudi, for treatment.
“Following the incident, around 100 residents from the affected community began a sit-in on the side of highway in Chinthamani around 3 am on Friday, demanding stringent action against the accused persons. The police registered a case against four youths identified as Maharaja, Mahesh, Muniyandi and Vishal and arrested them by noon from a coconut grove. The protesters dispersed after the police confirmed the arrest and promised strict action,” said sources.
