Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Madurai tense as Thevar statue removed






MADURAI: Tension prevailed in the city for around four hours when a life-sized statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar, installed without prior permission, was removed by the police and corporation officials here on Monday.Police sources said the statue was erected by Senthil Nathan, corporation councillor of ward 50, at Kondi Thozu Street behind Sourashtra Boys Higher Secondary School, recently.On Monday morning, when the police and the corporation officials visited the spot to remove the statue, a mob gathered around and started protesting. Chandramohan, tahsildar, Madurai South, and Murugesan, chief town planning officer, along with a posse of police, tried to reason out with the protesters that no statue could be erected without getting prior permission from the corporation. While the altercation between the police and the mob was going on, a few stones were pelted on the police, which forced the policemen to resort to a lathicharge to disperse the mob. During the lathicharge, one Sikkander Seit, an onlooker and a policeman was injured. After the statue was removed, the situation remained tense for a few more hours. Security was beefed up in the area. K Nandabalan, commissioner, police, P C Thenmozhi, DCP and other police officers held inquiries.

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