The town police arrested four persons, including a woman, for pasting posters to commemorate the death anniversary of Balan, a Naxal, and others on September 12, in Dharmapuri on Monday.
The arrested persons, under the aegis of ‘Puratchi Thyagigal Thozhargal L. Appu, Balan Silai Padhugappu, Nila Meetpu Kootamaippu’, had allegedly put up posters to mark the ‘Revolutionary Comrade Balan Memorial Day’.
The posters had wordings against imperialism, repression and communal fascism.
The four persons, Siddhananthan, Ramani, Ramachandiran and Vedi, were booked under Section 143 (Whoever is a member of Unlawful Assembly), Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), Section (4) of Open Space Disfigurement Act, and 7 (1) of Criminal Law Amendment Act. They were remanded in judicial custody.
The organisation to which they belonged claimed that they had obtained permission from the Madras High Court to commemorate the Revolutionary Comrades’ Day on September 12.
When contacted, Town Police Station Inspector Rathnakumar contended: “Balan was an anti-government person, and they cannot observe a memorial for him.” When pointed out that a memorial existed for Balan and Appu in Naickankottai in Dharmapuri, he said they were built in the past. “You need permission to paste posters,” he said.