RAMANATHAPURAM, July 25: A group of persons damaged and desecrated a statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar in Mudhukulathur in Ramanathapuram district on Thursday night leading to tension in the area. According to reports, in the violence that broke out following the incident, 13 buses were stoned and government offices were attacked on Friday morning.

The miscreants were supposed to have been returning from a public meeting addressed by Krishnasamy, an MLA from Paramakudi when they damaged the left arm of the statue located near a bus-stand and garlanded the figure with chappals.

As word spread on Friday morning, another group of persons gathered on the scene, removed the chappals and stoned vehicles passing that way demanding the arrest of the persons responsible for the earlier incident. They damaged seven government transport corporation buses.

A delegation, led by advocate Govindasamy, submitted a petition to District Collector P Anand, Superintendent of Police K C Mahali and other officials.

The signatories have appealed to the government to arrest the miscreants and also to install a fresh statue. In Kamudi, hostel students of a certain college and members of a certain community took out a protest march from Kottaimedu. On the way the processionists barged into the Panchayat union office and damaged the furniture and records.

The processionists also broke up the board of a market named after the leader of another community and placed logs in the road.

Later they attacked the students hostel of the other community at Kannarpatti.

According to the District Collector, all the schools and government students hostels in the district have been closed indefinitely.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.