NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, JULY 17
A statue of social reformer E V Ramasami ”Periyar” was found daubed with saffron hued paint at Coimbatore on Friday and a youth belonging to a fringe pro-Hindu outfit was arrested after his surrender, police said.
The 21-year old man, in his statement said he smeared the statue with paint to oppose insult to Lord Muruga in a Youtube channel “Karuppar Kootam,” they said.
He was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody, police said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami assured stringent action as per law.
“I have instructed the police to take appropriate action and bring the culprits to book,” he told reporters at Erode.
After the incident came to light, workers of DMK, MDMK and VCK protested demanding action and parties, including the ruling AIADMK and main opposition DMK, strongly condemned the desecration.
A case has been registered against the youth, M Arun Krishnan, the Coimbatore south district organiser of ”Bharat Sena” for alleged promotion of hatred between different groups, disturbing public tranquility and for giving provocation with intent to cause riot.
The desecration by miscreants comes against the backdrop of the arrest of two men, who subscribe to atheism, for denigration of ”Kanda Sashti Kavacham,” a popular Tamil hymn held sacred and recited every day by millions of devotees in Tamil Nadu in praise of Lord Muruga/Skanda and seeking divine protection.
The two men are connected to Karuppar Kootam on the social media platform and it has content allegedly against Hindu beliefs, according to Hindu organisations.
The BJP demanded slapping of Goondas Act against the accused in the hymn case and wanted the channel on Youtube to be banned.
The statue defacing, which occurred during the wee hours at Sundarapuram in the city, led to tension and anxiety for some time and policemen were deployed at the spot for security.
The paint, on a portion of the statue, around the right arm and waist, was removed by Periyar”s followers with police help.
Senior AIADMK leader and Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said such despicable acts can never be accepted, adding it was a punishable offence.
DMK president M K Stalin said Periyar had slogged for “small men” as well (seen as a reference to those behind sullying the statue by pouring paint) and that was why he was being hailed as “Periyar” (great man).
MDMK chief Vaiko demanded that the government act “responsibly” and take action.
He condemned the “continuous targeting of Periyar’s statues in Tamil Nadu.”
The PMK, an ally of the ruling AIADMK, demanded stern action against the miscreants and described the desecration as an act of cowardice.
The desecrated statue, unveiled in 1995, was one of the three statues of the reformer in the city.
