Madurai
The 13.5 kilogram gold armour of Muthuramalingam Thevar was returned to Bank of India branch at Madurai by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, and Madurai Collector K Veera Raghav Rao. It was then safely deposited inside the bank locker.
Outside the bank, supporters of Panneerselvam and sidelined AIADMK Deputy General Secretary, TTV Dinakaran raised slogans against each other and a large number of policemen were kept ready to handle any eventuality. This also caused a mild tension outside the bank.
The 13.5 kilogram gold armour costing Rs 3 crore was presented by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, in 2014. It was initially decided that the treasurer of the AIADMK along with the living descendant of Muthuramalingam Thevar alone was authorised to receive the armour from bank officials.
However, this year, due to internal disputes in the AIADMK, there was confusion in handing over the armour. It is because Dinakaran also claimed rights over it. Later, it was agreed to hand over the goldearmour to the Madurai Collector who, in turn, handed it over to the Ramanathapuram Collector before the Thevar Jayanti celebrations.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android