Stone pelting, burning effigies in Tamil Nadu after Jayalalithaa's conviction

Chennai: Violence by AIADMK cadres erupted across the state on Saturday afternoon after the special court in Bengaluru declared Tamil Nadu chief minister guilty in the disproportional asset case.

In Chennai AIADMK cadres forced closure of shops in places including the shopping hubs like T Nagar, Purusaiwalkam, Egmore, Veppery and Rajiv Gandhi Salai aka IT highway etc. At many places policemen were found advising the shop keepers to down shutters. Number of private companies had also declared holiday on Saturday afternoon.  A bus was burnt in Ambattur allegedly by AIADMK workers.

An AIADMK worker tried self-immolation in front of Jayalalithaa’s residence in Poes Garden in Chennai. Similar incidents were reported from Tiruppur and Coimbatore as well.

AIADMK cadres also burnt effigies of Dr Subramaniaswamy, who first moved the court seeking probe against Jayalalithaa’s disproportionate assets and DMK leader Karunanidhi.

At the AIADMK party headquarters, initial preparations for a celebration turned to gloom as news of the conviction started spreading in Royapettah. A group of AIADMK cadres thronged the DMK president Karunanidhi's  house at Gopalapuram, raised slogans, pelted stones creating tension.

Police had a tough time controlling the cadres of DMK and AIADMK. Mild clash and heated exchange broke out near Karunanidhi's residence. After the DMK cadres outnumbered the AIADMK cadres, the ruling party workers retracted. Earlier in the day posters criticizing Karunanidhi were put up in Royapettah and DMK leader effigies were burnt.   

A reticent DMK has not yet reacted to Jayalalithaa's conviction in the Rs 66.6 crore disproportionate assets case till early evening.

At half past 4pm, party leader M Karunanidhi who had written at length on the issue many a times, particularly in the recent past, neither issued a statement nor briefed the media in this regard.

When DC contacted Karunanidhi's Gopalapuram house, they said,"The detailed judgement is to be received yet. Thalaivar will issue a statement only after reading the verdict fully." Meanwhile, the DMK also had hundreds of party men guarding its leader Karunanidhi's residences at Gopalapuram and CIT colony.

Meanwhile, Chennai city went in shutdown mode anticipating violence to escalate as the quantum of conviction is awaited. Book launches and other cultural events in the city have been cancelled and movie halls have cancelled their evening shows.

The previous time that Jayalalithaa was convicted in February 2000, three students were burnt alive in Dharmapuri by AIADMK activists and widespread violence had grappled the city.

Angry AIADMK supporters indulging in stone pelting and arson and forcing closure of shops.

Police have taken to lathi charge in Bangalore.

Bus service between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has been suspended temporarily.

Situation tense in Chennai

According to sources, there were clashes between the DMK and AIADMK workers in front of DMK supremo Karunanidhi's house. Tension prevailed as protesters burnt effigies of DMK President M Karunanidhi, his sons M K Stalin and M K Alagiri and tore party posters in various places including in Chennai and Madurai.

Shops in Egmore are pulling their shutters down after unofficial warnings from police that there might be trouble. 70 per cent of shops have shut down in Mylapore. Almost all shops have closed around AIADMK headquarters. AIADMK party office wears a desserted look.

A state-owned transport corporation bus was set on fire at Veppur village and some 20 buses damaged in stone-pelting in Cuddalore district, police said. Stone pelting incidents were reported in Ambattur, Edapadi in Salem district, Cuddalore and in Srirangam, Jayalalithaa's assembly constituency, police said.

Protesters also damaged two-wheelers parked alongside roads in Madurai, they said.

Reports of stone-pelting have come in from near Subramanian Swamy's house. Swamy had first filed the case againt Jayalalithaa in 1996.

Swami also said that his concern was not if she goes to jail or not but the fact that she was holding a high position.