Anti-Hindi protester hurt after jumping in front of train succumbs

CHENNAI: A 'May 17' movement volunteer who suffered injuries after jumping in front of a train during a protest on March 11 at Park railway station succumbed at the hospital on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Siva Dileepan.

Dileepan was one among the members led by Thirumurugan Gandhi who erased Hindi words from signage at suburban railway stations in the city on March 11.

During the protest, he got injured while attempting to stop a train at the Park railway station. He was taken to a hospital and was under treatment for a week before he succumbed on Wednesday. Police had booked a case against the protestors.

Chief Minister MK Stalin took to social media and expressed his condolences. "No more lives should be lost. Despite intensive treatment, the death of Siva Dileepan, who, in an emotional moment, leapt before a train during the Hindi-letter erasure protest, has left me heartbroken.

We must defeat Hindi imposition with intellect, resolve and love for Tamil, not with our lives. I plead with you: there are other ways to show our feelings; we do not need self-sacrifice. I offer my deepest condolences and comfort to his family," he said.