Men who vandalised Periyar bust in Tirupattur were not drunk, police say

VELLORE: Two men, who were arrested for vandalising the bust of Periyar E V Ramasamy in Tirupattur town on Tuesday, had not been under the influence of alcohol and they had damaged it deliberately with a hammer, said investigation officer S Ulaganathan on Wednesday.
The accused are R Muthuraman, 42, who was BJP’s Tirupattur town general secretary, and his nephew Francis alias Silambarasan 28, who was said to be Tirupattur town deputy secretary of the CPI.

“They were not under the influence of liquor when they committed the crime. They deliberately acted and damaged the bust of Periyar using a hammer. The nose and the left side of the forehead of the state were damaged,” said the inspector.

Police have invoked sections 294 (b) (utters obscene words), 153 (A) (promoting enmity among different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC read with Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act against Muthuraman and Francis.

They had been remanded in judicial custody and lodged in the Vellore Central Prison for Men, said Ulaganathan.

“Muthuraman and Francis reached the spot on a two-wheeler. While Muthuraman sat on the bike, Francis climbed on the pedestal and damaged the bust. The incident took place around 8.30pm on Tuesday,” said M Elangovan, district (Tirupattur) deputy president of Dravida Kazhagam, quoting eyewitnesses.

On being informed, DK men reached the spot, They caught the duo and handed them over to police.

Meanwhile, Vellore district secretary of CPI A C Samykannu said Francis was not a member of the party. “Francis had enrolled as a candidate of the party four years ago. But we did not renew his membership after knowing that he was a drunkard and caused nuisance in the area. Our party has nothing to do with him,” said Samykannu.

He added that they respect the ideology of Periyar and condemned the action of the people who had vandalised the bust, which was unveiled by former Prime Minister V P Singh in December in 1992.

Meanwhile, DMK and VCK members burnt the effigies of BJP national secretary H Raja in Vellore district to condemn his social media post against Periyar. The demanded stern action against him for inciting violence.

Police personnel were deployed in 19 places in Vellore district and 10 places in Tiruvannamalai district to protect Periyar’s statues and busts. “Two police personnel have been deployed for each statue. The security cover will continue until the situation ease out,” said a police officer in Vellore district.