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Tuesday, October 6, 1998
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Caste violence: Shoot orders in TN district

RAMANATHAPURAM, Oct 5 (PTI, UNI) — Death toll in the violence and police firing in Ramanathapuram district has gone up to nine, with three more succumbing to injuries today, even as the police claimed that the situation was returning to normal with no untoward incident being reported.

While six persons were killed in police firing on mobs on October 3 and 4, three others died in the violence, triggered after a dispute over a function related to "ayuthapooja’’ on Saturday, the police said.

Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued in the violence-hit areas of the district and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr PC clamped to check violence.

The Tamil Nadu Government had requested for the services of the CRPF and the Rapid Action Force to maintain law and order in the district.

The police said the situation was being monitored and several persons belonging to the "Thevar Peravai and Puthia Tamizhagam’’ arrested for indulging in violence.

Bus services to the main town areas have been restored and supply of essential commodities like milk and vegetables were being maintained, the police added.

Meanwhile, nearly 200 members of the Thevar Peravai led by its president N. Sethuraman began an indefinite fast demanding a judicial inquiry into the police firing and violence that rocked the district.

Later, Additional DGP S. Kumaraswamy told reporters that more police forces, numbering over 2500 and including CRPF personnel and commandos, had been deployed in and around Ramanathapuram district to contain further violence.

He said the police had managed to recover a number of items of looted property, including a van.

Thirty-five "anti-social elements’’ had been arrested in this connection.

Madurai: Inspector-General of Police (Southern Zone) D. Manoharan told UNI over telephone from Ramanathapuram that no untoward incident was reported from any part of the district during the past 12 hours.

At least 2,000 police personnel, including two companies of the Central Reserve Police Force, were deployed in the affected areas to maintain law and order. Near normalcy was prevailing in the district, he added.

Additional Director-General of Police S. Kumarasamy, who reached Ramanathapuram this morning, visited the affected areas.

Meanwhile, a police constable posted at Paramakudi died of heart attack, police sources said.

CHENNAI: Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy today demanded the dismissal of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu in the wake of caste violence in Ramanathapuram district in the past two days.

"If the BJP-led government at the Centre fails to recommend imposition of President’s rule in the state, the AIADMK front should withdraw its support to the Vajpayee regime’’, Dr Swamy said in a statement here.

"We cannot be a mute bystander if the BJP-led government also abdicates its constitutional responsibility in Tamil Nadu. Otherwise, the people may well say "plague on both your houses" and hold us also as accomplices," he said.

Dr Swamy said Mr Karunanidhi had "completely abdicated his constitutional responsibility" and alleged the Chief Minister was ‘pursuing a scorched-earth policy’ of destroying the administrative fabric of the state so that successive governments may not be able to rule.

The Tamil Nadu Government has rushed CRPF and the Rapid Action Force to cope with caste violence in Ramanathapuram, which claimed eight lives.

Over 500 personnel have been sent to the area and the situation is under control, an official press note said today.

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi sanctioned a solatium of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of six persons who died in police firing in the past two days and Rs 2 lakh each to next of kin of two victims who were killed in the clashes.

The press note said compensation ranging from Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000 would be given to those who were injured.

Over 25 shops were damaged in the violence. The Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 3 lakh as total compensation to be distributed among the shopowners, the press note said, quoting a District Collector.

Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) President G.K. Moopanar and MGR-ADMK leader S. Thirunavukkarasu urged Mr Karunanidhi to take stern action against those instigating the clashes.

Union Petroleum Minister Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy demanded the dismissal of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu for its alleged failure to control recurring caste clashes in parts of the state. Alleging that the state administration had deteriorated so much that it could no longer be carried in accordance with the Constitution, Mr Ramamurthy urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to recommend the invocation of Article 356 and the imposition of President’s rule in Tamil Nadu.

Ever since M Karunanidhi became Chief Minister, unprecedented caste violence has erupted in southern Tamil Nadu. Even in other places, incidents of murder, dacoity, rape, group clashes and other social crimes have been on the rise," said Mr Ramamurthy, who heads the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress.

MDMK General Secretary Vaiko said in a statement that the resurgence of caste violence and resultant police firing showed that the law and order situation in the state was "bad".

The Tamil Nadu BJP alleged that "outsiders" had been brought the Ramanathapuram district to foment clashes between Dalits and other Hindu castes who had been living in harmony for a long time. State BJP General Secretary L Ganesan said some forces did not want Dalits and other castes to remain united.

Meanwhile, the chief of the Tamil Nadu police justified the police firing at Ramanathapuram, which witnessed caste violence in the last two days, saying only the ‘aggressors’ of two clashing castes were targeted.

"The police have acted fairly and impartially", Director General of Police F.C. Sharma told reporters here.

Elaborating, he said that on the night of October 3, two were killed in the firing and both belonged to one particular caste which had attacked a rival group and also police personnel. Yesterday, three more fell to police bullets, and they belonged to the rival caste which turned aggressive and indulged in arson and looting.back

 

Ten charged in train blasts case

CHENNAI, Oct 5 (PTI) — Ten members of two Islamic fundamentalist groups were today chargesheeted at a magistrate’s court at Erode in Tamil Nadu for a bomb blast on a Coimbatore-bound train on December 6 last.

The blast on the Cheran express was one of three synchronised on-board explosions on three trains apparently timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya. Two persons were killed in this blast and four others injured.

The other blasts were at Tiruchirappalli (Pandiyan Express) and Thrissur (Alleppey Express) which killed 10 people and injured 72 others.

Among those chargesheeted by the special investigation team of the state crime branch-CID was Erwadi Kasim, president of ‘Islamic Defence Force’, who has already been arraigned in a few other cases involving fundamentalist violence.

According to the chargesheet, the investigation showed that the three train blasts were the handiwork of the Islamic Defence Force and All India Jihad Committee.

The conspiracy, it said, was hatched in the city office of the All India Jihad Committee where the IDF also clandestinely functioned. Several documents in this regard were also recovered.
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