Thiruparankundram row: 195 people booked for staging protest inside Murugan temple premises
The prohibitory order was issued after the Hindu Munnani called for a protest against a group of people who allegedly consumed non-vegetarian food on the hillock.
DTNEXT Bureau
CHENNAI: 195 individuals, including members of Hindu outfits, have been booked for staging a sit-in protest inside the Murugan temple atop Thiruparankundram hill on Tuesday, in defiance of a prohibitory order imposed by the district administration, said a Daily Thanthi report. The prohibitory order was issued after the Hindu Munnani called for a protest against a group of people who allegedly consumed non-vegetarian food on the hillock.
On Tuesday, thousands of protesting devotees, BJP and Hindu Munnani functionaries demanded the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam and a ban on animal sacrifices at the Sikandar Badushah Dargah, which is atop the same hillock. Hindu groups such as the Thiruparankundram Hill Protection Committee, Hindu Makkal Katchi, and Akhila Bharatha Anuman Sena, along with members of the general public had also taken to the streets, urging for the hill to be recognized as the sacred domain of Lord Murugan, as per the 1931 London Council resolution.
The protestors also demanded that animal sacrifices be prohibited to protect the sanctity of the hill. Some even raised slogans: "reclaim Thiruparankundram hill," and "Murugan's army of devotees defeats detention" on the occasion.
Amidst escalating tensions, Madurai District Collector MS Sangeetha had imposed stringent restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC on February 3 and 4 across the district. Following this, over 4,000 police and officers from 10 districts were deployed at Thiruparankundram on Tuesday. Despite this, the protesters had gathered in the Shasti Mandapam area of the temple, from where the police forcibly tried to remove them using tear gas, the Daily Thanthi report added.
A scuffle ensued between the police and the protestors, creating a chaotic situation. The protesters were arrested, taken in police vans, and temporarily detained in a wedding hall before being released.
The Thiruparankundram police have now registered cases under six sections against 195 individuals involved in Tuesday's protest.
Meanwhile, in the evening, the Hindu Munnani members staged a massive protest at Palanganatham, barely hours after the Madras High Court gave its nod for the agitation to be staged between 5 and 6 pm at Palanganathan and not Thiruparankundram as originally sought by the protesters. The court had also directed the police to release all Hindu Munnani and BJP members either detained or kept under house arrest.
Hindu Munnani state president Kadeshwara Subramaniam and scores of activists had been arrested while they were proceeding to Thiruparankundram to stage the protest in the morning.
