Saffron colour daubed on Periyar's statue; parties protest
Coimbatore: A statue of social reformer E V Ramasami 'Periyar' was found daubed with saffron colour at Coimbatore on Friday and police are on the lookout for the miscreants behind it.
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.
Police said they were probing the matter and assured immediate action.
The defilement, suspected to have occurred during the wee hours at Sundarapuram in the city, led to tension and anxiety and a posse of policemen -including two sporting protective gear against coronavirus- was deployed at the spot.
The colour, 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 desecration by miscreants comes against the backdrop of the arrest of two men, followers of Periyar's atheist ideology, for alleged 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.
The desecrated statue, unveiled in 1995, was one of the three statues of the social reformer in the city.
CPI district secretary V S Sundaram said defacing the statue of Periyar was not acceptable and urged police to take immediate action and arrest the 'anti-social elements'.
DMK MLA N Karthik also condemned the incident and said that this could be an attempt to destroy peace in Tamil Nadu.
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Delhi court sentences CBI joint director to 3 months' imprisonment in IRS officer assault case
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced two CBI officers to three months' imprisonment for assaulting and trespassing into the residence of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer during a raid over two decades ago.
Judicial Magistrate Shashank Nandan Bhatt was hearing the arguments on the sentence against the convicted retired police officer V K Pandey and Ramneesh, who was serving as a superintendent of police when the raid was conducted in 2000.
Ramneesh is at present a joint director at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The court also fined Rs 50,000 each to both the accused.
Both were accused under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (mischief) and 448 (criminal trespass) in a complaint filed by IRS officer Ashok Kumar Aggarwal.
The case pertained to an incident on October 19, 2000, when a CBI team carried out a search and arrest operation at Aggarwal's residence in Paschim Vihar.
Aggarwal alleged that the officials forcibly entered his house in the early hours, assaulted him and violated legal procedures during the arrest.
#WATCH | Delhi | Former IRS officer assault case. | Tis Hazari Court sentenced CBI joint director Ramneesh and Retired ACP Vivek Pandey to 3 months sentence in an assault case filed by former IRS officer Ashok Agarwal. The court has granted them bail to challenge the judgment.… https://t.co/RwAxjMrWDK pic.twitter.com/2FlkG4rDs0
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2026
