The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Case of attempt to murder against MLA

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Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Case of attempt to murder against MLA

Staff Reporter

KULITHALAI: Police have arrested nine DMK functionaries in connection with the violence unleashed at the MDMK public rally here late on Monday night.

The Kulithalai MLA, R. Manikkam, belonging to the ruling party has been charged with, among other things, attempt to murder. Based on a complaint from a person charges have been laid against some MDMK functionaries.

On Monday night, some persons reported to be supporters of the DMK, attacked a public rally organised by the MDMK here in which the party State propaganda secretary Nanjil Sampath and a dozen others were injured. In the melee some buses, a lorry, some shops and other establishments had to bear the brunt of the assault. Mr. Manikkam and some others were present at the scene when the attack took place.

The injured were first taken to the Kulithalai Government Hospital and then referred to a private hospital in Tiruchi.

The injured MDMK office-bearers, led by the town secretary and Municipal vice-chairman V. Pallvairaja preferred a complaint with the Kulithalai police based on which police brought forward charges against several DMK men.

Based on the complaint, Kulithalai police arrested DMK office-bearers K.M. Senthil Kumar, N. Tamilarasan, Murthy, M. Veeramalai, M.K. Vadivu, P. Annadurai, P. Pitchai, T. Natarajan and A. Kannan. All those arrested were produced before the Judicial Magistrate-I V. Anandan who remanded them to 15 days judicial custody.

Several other DMK functionaries, including the Kulithalai MLA, have been named in the FIR and have been charged under Sec. 147, 148, 294 (b), 307, 324 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code and also under Sec. 3 of the Protection of Public Property Act.

DMK lodges complaint

On a related plane, R. Muthuselvan, a DMK cadre, preferred a complaint with the police based on which similar charges have been laid against local MDMK functionaries but no arrests have been made so far.

Speaking to media persons here on Monday night, Mr. Sampath alleged that it was a planned attack aimed at him and that police were a mute witness to the assault by “ruling party men.”

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tiruchi Range, Ashok Kumar Das, and the Superintendent of Police, Karur, K. Shanmugavel, arrived here late night with a posse of police and enquired with victims, eyewitnesses and the public on the incident.

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