TIRUCHY: Over 137 DMK cadres, including former MLA Stalin Kumar and party district secretary Kaduvetti N Thiyagarajan, were arrested by Thuraiyur police on Wednesday for staging a protest against Deputy Speaker and Thuraiyur MLA M Ravisankar over the alleged assault of a local resident, saying that it has created fear among the public when it comes to raising public issues.

The DMK cadres staged a protest condemning Ravisankar for allegedly assaulting Karthik Kannan, a local resident and TVK supporter, who had approached him with a civic complaint.

Raising slogans against the Deputy Speaker and the TVK government, the protesters alleged that elected TVK representatives were unfit to represent the people. They demanded that Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay take strict action against Ravisankar and remove him from office.

Addressing the protesters, Thiyagarajan said the six-month-old TVK government had seen a deterioration in the law-and-order situation across the State, particularly in the Thuraiyur constituency. He alleged that Ravisankar, despite being elected, insulted his supporters. He claimed the incident created fear among residents, who were now hesitant to approach elected representatives with their grievances.

Later, the Thuraiyur police registered a case against 137 DMK cadres, including 10 women, Thiyagarajan, former MLA Stalin Kumar and town secretary Murali.