Coimbatore: The weeklong peaceful protests by pro-jallikattu protesters at the VOC Park Grounds ended in violence on Monday, with the police evicting them through forceful means.
As the protesters refused to leave the agitation venue despite appeals by police, they were evacuated forcefully from there. The protests also spilled over to various arterial roads in Coimbatore and in front of colleges.
At around 7.30 am, a huge team of police led by city police commissioner A Amalraj descended on the VOC Park Grounds and appealed to the students to give up their protest. However, thousands of students and public, who stayed put for the seventh consecutive day, refused to do so. Police then began to clear the students forcefully. Students held each other’s hands, forming a long chain and singing the national anthem and chanting vande mataram.
Police had to overpower them and remove them from the spot. Emotions ran high as children cried seeing their parents and family members being dragged away. Police also resorted to a lathi-charge to evict the crowd.
Hundreds of students who were forced out of the VOC Park Grounds, later knelt down weeping on Avinashi Road and pleaded for support from public and vehicle riders. Two youths - Aravind Raja, 21, and Ramachandran, 27, fainted in the melee and were rushed to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for treatment.
The forceful eviction and lathi-charge left scores of youngsters injured and many with bleeding injuries. Later, the police also dismantled the temporary tents and shelters installed at the VOC Park Grounds. Scores of protesters removed from the protest venue were kept in various marriage halls and community centres in the city.
Meanwhile, a large number of youngsters marched towards Meenakshi marriage hall at Peelamedu, where police had kept the youngsters removed earlier from the protest site and staged a road blockade on Avinashi road.
Police also removed the former from the scene. In another incident, students of CIT College blocked traffic on Avinashi road near Peelamedu, condemning the attack on the pro-jallikattu protesters. Police resorted to a lathi-charge to clear the way.
Similarly, a large number of students of Government Law College boarded a bus to join the protests in the city, but Sai Baba Colony police stopped them near Lawley Road and removed them. The students then staged a road roko near Thadagam road signal, condemning the police action. Police quickly removed them and took them to a community hall in the same neighbourhood.
Condemning the lathi-charge on the students, Bharathiar University students staged an agitation in front of their institution. Besides students, people also gathered at various places in the city to protest the police action against pro-jallikattu protesters.
Bull gores policeman in Virudhunagar
A policeman on security duty was gored to death by a bull during jallikattu at Kansapuram village in Virudhunagar district. According to the police, Shankar (30) was deployed for security duty for jallikattu in the village. He was standing close to the barricade outside the arena.
When the bull came running towards a tamer close to the barricade, the police personnel Shankar tried to save him, but the bull gored him instead. Though Shankar was rushed to the hospital, he was declared brought dead. Over 100 bulls participated in the event.
