Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadres hurled stones on anti-nuclear energy protesters here on Saturday. A police constable, Murugesan (45), suffered head injuries in the incident. This is the second time the anti-nuclear energy protesters were being targeted. Earlier, they were assaulted at the Tirunelveli Collectorate when they went to participate in the third round of talks with experts of central panel on January 31.
S.P. Udayakumar, convenor of the Anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Struggle Committee, who was scheduled to address the protest organised by Thai Tamilar Iyakkam, was on his way to Jawahar Ground, the venue for the protest, when the cadres of Congress and BJP started hurling stones at around 6.15 p.m.
The cadres, led by party local leaders, S.R. Beemaraj (Congress) and Radhakrishnan (BJP), carrying black flags, thronged the venue and started shouting slogans against the anti-nuclear protesters, the police said.
A flex board carrying the photograph of Mr. Udayakumar was torn. The cadres also burnt a few photographs they had brought with them.Suddenly, they started throwing stones at the anti-nuclear protesters who retaliated, an eye witness said.Meanwhile, Mr. Udayakumar, who was on his way to Rajapalayam from Tirunelveli, along with a few of his supporters stopped his vehicle on the outskirts of the town. “It is a planned attack (on us) by the Congress and the BJP. The local police did not show any interest in removing the protesters from the venue even after stone-pelting,” Mr. Udayakumar said.Stating that the local police had denied permission for the protest meeting at Rajapalayam on two occasions earlier, he said the meeting was organised with court permission. “It is not an illegal meeting. We had the court permission to conduct the meeting between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.,” he said.Meanwhile, the Madurai Superintendent of Police, Asra Garg (additional charge for Virudhunagar district), rushed to the spot and promised to provide security to Mr. Udayakumar's team.
However, according to the meeting organisers, the local police did not allow them to enter the town. Later, the police told them that the permitted time had ended and asked them not to proceed further, the organisers said.
Published - March 04, 2012 02:46 am IST
