Tyres burnt in front of temples in TN leads to tension

Burning tyres found in front of three temples here on Saturday led to tense moments with workers of BJP and fringe pro-Hindu outfits demanding action against the culprits, police said.

The incidents came a day after a statue of social reformer E V Ramasami 'Periyar' was found daubed with saffron hued paint here.

Police acted on a complaint from locals, scanned CCTV footage and found a man taking an old tyre lying outside a nearby garage early this morning and setting it on fire in front of the Makaliamman temple.

He damaged a board kept there and broke a bulb, while a trident in front of the temple was blackened due to the thick smoke from the burning tyre, they said.

As the news spread, workers from BJP, Hindu Munnani, VHP and other pro-Hindu outfits rushed to the area and demanded immediate arrest of the miscreants.

The outfits warned of an agitation if the police failed to arrest the culprits within 24 hours.

A large number of police personnel have been deployed in the area.

Reacting to the incident, BJP Tamil Nadu Vice-president, Vanati Srinivasan urged the City police commissioner to take action against the miscreants.

In a tweet, she alleged that the trident kept in front of the temple was damaged.

In the second incident, a burning tyre was found in front of the Vinayakar temple near the railway station and another, at the Selvavinayakar shrine at Nellampalayam area, police said.

BJP sources said a kerosene-laced cloth was found burnt in front of a temple near Sangameshar temple at town hall here.

BJP Coimbatore district President, R Nandakumar alleged that the police have failed to arrest those behind the attack on leaders of Hindu organisations including RSS in the last couple of years.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, G Stalin said the investigation is on to ascertain and bring to book those who attempted to vandalise Maakaliamman temple and Vinayagar temple.

Image credits: PTI / Representative image