Periyar Bust Desecrated In Tiruchy, Saffron Paint Poured Over

TIRUCHY: Unidentified miscreants desecrated a bust of revered Dravidian leader E V Ramasami "Periyar" that is kept in the Periyar memorial Samathuvapuram in Inamkulathur village near Tiruchy's Inamkulathur in the wee hours of Sunday. According to a report by TNIE, saffron paint was poured over the bust and was garlanded with slippers.

Manikandam police said that they rushed to the spot and immediately cleaned the statue with the help of locals. Police said that they have launched an investigation to nab the accused.  

As soon as the word spread over social media, supporters of Periyar and cadres from different organisations gathered at the village and demanded immediate arrest, as reported by the daily.

DMK MP Kanimozhi condemned the incident on Twitter and said that the social reformer was disrespected by painting it with saffron.

Earlier, in July this year, a life-size statue Periyar was found daubed with saffron paint at Sundarapuram area in Coimbatore leading to protests by workers of DMK, MDMK and VCK. The statue was one of the three of the social reformer installed in the city in 1995.