Five killed in TN police firing

RAMANATHAPURAM, Oct 4 (PTI) — At least five persons, including a woman and a teenager, were killed in police firing as violence and arson rocked Ramanathapuram town and a nearby village today in a worst caste conflict in southern Tamil Nadu in recent times, the police said.

The police opened several rounds of fire to control a rampaging group of people, killing three persons, including a teenager, and injuring four seriously in the north street locality of the town this afternoon.

Two persons, a 45-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man, were killed when the police fired 10 rounds to disperse two warring groups at Tiruppulani last night.

The police said it had to open fire in Ramanathapuram town today when a group of 100 armed persons belonging to a caste turned violent and attacked a police party which tried to prevent it from marching to Tiruppulani village, 10 km from here, inhabitated by members of another caste.

The police said 50 shops were ransacked and three policemen were injured in a clash between a group of people and police. Three persons were stabbed and three houses and several vehicles were set ablaze in fresh arson and violence in the town.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi alleged that some forces were trying to foment caste violence and warned of stern action against perpetrators of violence.

AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha demanded the deployment of the Army to tackle the situation accusing the state government of failing to contain caste conflict.

The police said the town remained in the grip of tension even as 1,500 police personnel were deployed in the area to maintain calm.

Call in Army to check caste clashes: Jaya

CHENNAI, Oct 4 (PTI) — The DMK government in Tamil Nadu should hand over to the Army, the responsibility of protecting the people in view of the "recurring" caste violence in the state, AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha demanded today.

Referring to the police firing in Ramanathapuram district in which two persons died last night, she condemned the Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for his "failure" to prevent recurrence of caste and communal clashes.

The police fired to quell violence that broke out following clashes between two castes.

"The people are terribly frightened by the continuing police firings and even before total deterioration of the law and order situation sets in, the Karunanidhi regime should hand over the responsibility of protecting the people to the Army," she said in a statement here.

People in the southern districts had themselves said only the Army could protect their lives and property, she claimed.

Ms Jayalalitha alleged that Mr Karunanidhi "does not seem to be displaying the sense of responsibility called for to handle the deteriorating law and order situation" despite the caste clashes last year which left over 150 persons dead in the southern districts and the Coimbatore serial blasts.

Citing various instances of caste clashes and violent incidents, she said yesterday’s police firing at Thirupullani "confirms that suitable precautionary measures were not taken by the administration to contain the situation".

"Even while ominous symptoms are being observed, the government should take swift action with all the forces at its command" to put an end to any possible further deterioration of the situation, she said.

"But it is very clear that the police department under the Karunanidhi regime stands perplexed, bewildered and inert in Ramanathapuram district," she charged.

Meanwhile, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder, Dr S. Ramadoss, said in a statement that the recurring violence in the southern districts led one to doubt whether the region was really under the control of the state police.

The government’s wrong approach was the main reason for the violence in the region, he alleged, adding that latent signs for an increase in violence could be discerned in six districts in south Tamil Nadu.