Tension at Sivaganga during Guru puja
MADURAI: Tension prevailed at Sivaganga on Sunday during the Guru Puja of Maruthu Pandiyar brothers, marking the 218th death anniversary of freedom fighters, allegedly after a group of people attempted to install statue of Maruthu Pandiyar.
The guru puja is scheduled annually at his memorial in Kalayarkoil. While scores of people were marching to pay tributes at the memorial, commotion erupted on Teppakulam road near Aranmanai Vaasal after a group of about 200 people placed the statue on a temporary stage like structure at Teppakulam and sat down.
On learning this, a team of police led by Sivagangai Deputy Superintendent of Police P. Abdul Gafoor held talks with the group citing to remove the statue as permission was not obtained.
When the talks failed and the situation turned worse, with the help of more force the police took away the statue. Irked over this, some of them in the group hurled stones at the police personnel, causing injury to Inspector of Police Sampath at the site. In the wake of the attack, the police resorted to a mild lathicharge, dispersing the crowd. The inspector suffered injury on his chin and required stitch. He was admitted to Sivagangai Government
Medical College Hospital, sources said. Condemning the police action, some attempted to block traffic near Sivaganga bus stand.
While the police were pacifying the crowd, somebody from the crowd pelted stones on a moving bus, damaging it. A video, which was shot by the police on the site, is being reviewed to nab the accused.