120 buses damaged over arrest of Ramadoss, leaders
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Chennai/Villupuram: As many as five buses, including an AP registered vehicle, were torched and nearly 120 buses were damaged by PMK men following the arrest of PMK chief Dr S. Ramadoss.
Nearly 2,700 party members have been arrested and remanded in connection with the violence which broke out after the arrest of Dr Ramadoss, G. K. Mani and Kaduvetti Guru on Tuesday evening.
“Three buses in Kanchipuram and one each in Krishnagiri and Vellore were torched by people owing allegiance to PMK,” the police said.
The Andhra Pradesh government bus plying between Puducherry and TirupathiTirumala was stopped by a group of men on Kanchipuram–Arakkonam Road near Govindavadiagaram at around 11 am on Wednesday. “After stoning the bus, (AP 325076) the mob asked the passengers to disembark.
They later doused the bus with patrol and set the bus on fire,” the police said.
On Tuesday night, a Tamil Nadu government bus plying between Kanchipuram and Vellore was set on fire on ChennaiBengaluru highway at Thammal, the police said.
Personnel from the Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP) fourth battalion have been deployed at strategic locations across the district to prevent more such incidents, a senior police offi cer said. Terming Chief minister Jayalalithaa’s remarks in the assembly on Marakkanam violence contrary to truth, former Union minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss sought a judicial inquiry by a high court sitting judge or a CBI probe into the incident a few hours ahead of PMK’s Chithirai Thiruvizha Festival held in Mamallapuram on April 25.
He said black flags would be hoisted atop houses of PMK cadres across the state until their demands were met and also squarely blamed VCK for orchestrating the violence and killing two cadres of the PMK.
“We do not have faith in the TN police,” he said while speaking to mediapersons here on Wednesday. “Police did not deploy adequate force to prevent the violence,” he said, adding two PMK workers were killed and 500 vehicles damaged by VCK cadres.
Ramadoss said, “We want to pursue progressive politics and not rotten politics like the Dravidian parties. A few workers might have been drunk only because of the government which sells liquor.” He maintained that PMK cadres had not damaged the Mamallapuram shore shrine. But when asked about a flag hosted atop the temple, he tendered his apology, stating “I am sorry for that.” Meanwhile, protesting the arrest of Ramadoss, party volunteers resorted to road blockades, damaging windscreens of 32 government buses in Villupuram.
In Cuddalore district, volunteers stoned 15 buses at Panruti, Kurinjipadi and Nellikuppam after requesting the passengers to get down. 307 PMK volunteers including party Deputy General Secretary Thamaraiselvan were taken into preventive custody in Cuddalore.
Police was deployed at strategic locations. In Puducherry, 10 buses were damaged in stone pelting by PMK volunteers at Thavalakuppam, Kottakuppam and on the ECR. Meanwhile, the Puducherry unit of Vanniyar Sangam has called for a bandh on May 3 to protest the arrest and detention of PMK cadres.
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