Thiruchirapalli
Police have detained around 100 persons from both sides and a heavy posse of forces, monitored by the Central Zone IG, have been deployed to monitor the situation in the region. However, the shops remained closed on Monday.
It all started on Sunday evening, when Pandiaraj, a member from a dominant caste hailing from Rajakalimadu, came to Vedaranyam and attacked Ramachandran, a dalit and a resident from Ramakrishnapuram, with a knife near Vedaranyam police station.
As Ramachandran suffered injuries, around 10 supporters of Ramachandran in retaliation started assaulting Pandiaraj and reportedly set his jeep on fire. Following this, around 200 persons gathered in support of Pandiaraj resorted to violence turning the entire town into a battlefield. Suddenly, some persons from Rajakalimadu vandalised an Ambedkar statue at the entrance of Vedaranyam bus stand and pelted stones at the police station. Around 10 people were injured in the violence.
The police rushed to the spot and tried to bring the situation under control by detaining around 100 persons from both the sides. Top police officials led by IG of police (Central Zone) V Varadaraju rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Meanwhile, in the early hours of Monday, the bus service to and from Vedaranyam were suspended. In the afternoon, only some shops opened and a few buses were operated fromVedaranyam.
New statue at the same spot
In order to ensure peace, the police installed a new six feet statue of Dr Ambedkar and provided security to it. It may be recalled that the new statue was seized by police last year from Kalahastanapuram near Tharangambadi, when volunteers attempted to install it without permission.
Cases registered against 20
Meanwhile, the police registered a case against 20 persons for vandalising the statue. Another eight persons were booked for torching the jeep.
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