Madurai: The district police used force on Monday to disperse a group of protesters who refused to accept the villagers’ decision to hold jallikattu with government participation on February 1 at Alanganallur, leaving at least 38 persons including 10 cops injured in the melee.
High drama was seen all day when the police had tough time clearing a group of around 350 protesters who sat on the main road of the town demanding a ‘permanent solution’ to the jallikattu issue.
After the protesters refused to hold talks with the police and the village jallikattu festival committee, who spoke using the public addressing system, the committee members along with village elders sat down in front of Kali Amman temple, located 600-m away from the protest site and took a unanimous decision to conduct the sport on February 1.
When the message was conveyed to the protesters, who raised slogan against the village committee refusing to accept the decision, the police then lathi-charged the protesters — majority of whom were outsiders.
When police began the lathi-charge, the protesters pelted stones at them, and police were forced to retort in self-defense and continued the caning till the crowd dispersed from the place.
“The assembly was declared unlawful by executive magistrate. Enough time was given to disperse. While effecting the arrests, miscreants resorted to stone pelting on police,” said SP, Vijendra S Bidari, adding that only minimum force was used to disperse the gathering.
The SP said that no one sustained serious injuries in the incident. The police also seized around 50 two-wheelers parked in the locality. It may be recalled that Alanganallur was where protests this ‘Pongal’ season started with many political parties and social organisations holding agitations every day to express solidarity with the villagers for the conduct of jallkattu, much before the Pongal festival.
On the day of ‘Maattu Pongal’, January 16, thousands of youth from Chennai and other parts of the state converged at Alanganallur to try and ensure the conduct of jallikattu at its largest and most traditional venue in the state. Police then surrounded the youth who camped overnight at the venue and detained them.
It was the demand to release the youth that kick-started the protests in Marina bench in Chennai.
The protesters in Chennai were also chased away today. Back in Alanganallur, though the village committee decided to conduct the event with government participation, many women are not happy with the police action against the protesters.
However, some villagers told this correspondent that outsiders, referring to 200-odd protesters, who have been camping for eight days in the town, were behind the trouble.
Shri. Bidari, the district SP, added that police have been deployed at all locations and the situation in Alanganallur was peaceful.
