AMMK cadre go berserk as Dhinakaran visits hospital

Cacophony in silent zone: AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran and his party cadre inside Ramanathapuram Government District Headquarters Hospital campus on Thursday.

Cacophony in silent zone: AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran and his party cadre inside Ramanathapuram Government District Headquarters Hospital campus on Thursday.   | Photo Credit: L_Balachandar

Gardener and party man injured in the melee

RAMANATHAPURAM

Volunteers of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) went berserk and smashed glass panes at the Government District Headquarters Hospital here on Thursday, when T.T.V. Dhinakaran came there to visit party office-bearer Thava Muniasamy, undergoing treatment after he was hacked by a three-member gang on Wednesday.

Hundreds of party cadre tried to enter the newly built accident and trauma care unit of the hospital with Mr. Dhinakaran, ignoring the warnings by security guards. This led to chaos, in which they damaged the glass panes.

The party cadre jolted the others and surged ahead, smashing the glass panes at the entry and exit points of triage section, where Mr. Muniasamy was shifted temporarily for the convenience of the visitors.

M. Muniasamy (40), a gardener who was assisting hospital security guards, suffered cut injuries in two fingers in his left hand and a party worker, M. Selvaraj (45), suffered a cut injury in his left foot when they were caught in the melee. They were treated as outpatients.

After finding the accident and trauma care unit room too small, hospital authorities shifted Mr. Thava Muniasamy to the triage section for the convenience of Mr. Dhinakaran, but the temporary arrangement went awry. “The crowd was uncontrollable and we simply could not manage,” said U. Govindarajan, an orthopaedic surgeon who was present in the section. In the absence of police, hospital security guards could not control the crowd, he said.

Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the hospital complex when Mr. Dhinakaran arrived there amid bursting of crackers. As he came in a convoy of more than 60 cars, traffic in front of the hospital came to a standstill for about 20 minutes. “What was the need for bursting crackers when he arrives to visit a patient at the hospital,” asked R. Ramesh, a patient’s attendant the hospital.

Later, Mr. Dhinakaran enquired with doctors about the treatment being given to Mr. Thava Muniasamy and requested them to provide him the best treatment. The victim explained to him what happened on Wednesday.

Mr. Dhinakaran was accompanied by party leader Thanga Tamilselvan, district secretary Va.Thu.Na. Anand and women’s wing leader Kavitha Sasikumar.