Cops avert group clash in Pudukkottai

Trouble started when one group of party men refused to allow supporters of late CM J Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa to pay tributes to the statue of the founder leader of the party. 

Sources said that around 200 supporters of Deepa, led by MR Raja Rathinam and C Azhagu Subbaiyah, former AIADMK secretary of Ponnamaravathi union, gathered near the SP office to pay tributes to the statue of MGR. 

Meanwhile, members of rival faction of the AIADMK also assembled at the venue. As tension was mounting in the area, a police team rushed to the spot and tried to pacify both the sides. But, supporters refused to budge and squatted on Pudukkottai-Karaikudi Road. Soon, the rival group marched towards Deepa’s supporters. But, police stopped them. Cops rounded up as many as 98 supporters of Deepa, including 11 women.