Former AIADMK minister RB Udhayakumar arrested in Madurai
On hearing about the incident, Udhayakumar and his supporters attempted to visit the station but were stopped at Muthulingapuram.
RB Udhayakumar
MADURAI: Police arrested AIADMK former minister RB Udhayakumar and his supporters after a tense situation prevailed near V Sathirapatti police station in Peraiyur taluk on Friday night over the opposition party’s protest condemning vandal attacks on cops and the premises.
On hearing about the incident, Udhayakumar and his supporters attempted to visit the station but were stopped at Muthulingapuram. He staged a protest and refused to disperse, saying that even the police station is not safe under the DMK regime.
As the Deputy Leader of Opposition insisted on going ahead to the vandalised police station to express solidarity with affected policemen, cops on duty arrested them.
Over hundreds of AIADMK cadre were also taken into custody along with RB Udhayakumar, while staging a dharna at Muthulingapuram near Kallupatti in Madurai district.
Udhayakumar alleged that some masked men ransacked V Chatrapatti police station, launched an attack on head constable Palpandi while he was on night duty and finally locked the station before fleeing the scene.
During the dharna, many people handed over petitions to Udhayakumar, the Tirumangalam MLA, to ensure the safety of the public and the station as well. The local people were frightened and panicked by the attack, the AIADMK leader said, and alleged that police denied his meeting with the public.
He wondered how those men were bold enough to attack police inside the station. There is no safety for the people and there is no safety for the police, either, he said. Two months ago, Muthukumar, a constable, was murdered by ganja sellers while initiating action, he added. Citing these, he asked how the police could protect the public from any danger.
The incident is over an attack unleashed by family members and supporters of an accused named Prabhakaran, who vandalised the police station. As the murder case accused wasn’t available, police allegedly took his father to the station for inquiry. Angered over this, Prabhakaran and his associates, in an inebriated state, allegedly entered the police station, threatened a policeman, vandalised the station properties and fled, said a Maalaimalar report.
