Dharapuram NTK candidate's arrest: Did I smuggle drugs, asks Karthika

COIMBATORE: NTK functionary M Karthika, who contested the Dharapuram by-polls unsuccessfully, hit out at the ruling party after police arrested her on Tuesday, along with eight others, including her husband, for staging a protest when Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay held a roadshow for his party candidate, P Sathyabama.

While being escorted for a post-arrest medical check-up at the government hospital in Dharapuram, she told reporters that she hasn't smuggled any narcotics to be swooped down on in such a manner, referring to the recent arrest of a TVK functionary, N Boopalan, in a meth case. “Does only the Chief Minister have the right to campaign on the final day of the polls?” she asked, while accusing police of arresting her without allowing her to change out of her nightwear dress, causing inconvenience and humiliation.

On October 4, police booked and detained Karthika and other protesters for staging a roadblock along the route taken by Vijay for the roadshow.

They were booked on multiple charges including unlawful assembly, rioting, criminal intimidation, attempt to assault, and other sections. The NTK functionaries were charged with attempting to attack police personnel when they removed an NTK banner placed in an 'unauthorised' location. A TVK supporter, who was returning home with a child near Kamarajapuram, was allegedly attacked by the police personnel.

In connection with the case, the Dharapuram police arrested Karthika and her husband, Murugan Chandrakumar, at their Coimbatore residence on Tuesday. Following the arrest, the NTK cadres staged a protest in front of the Dharapuram police station.

A heated exchange broke out between the police and NTK functionaries when police brought Karthika back to the station after the medical examination. Selva Nanmaran, a functionary of the NTK’s legal wing, said the party, under the leadership of its chief coordinator, Seeman, would soon organise a major protest condemning the arrest.