Over the last four days, Tamil Nadu has witnessed an unprecedented wave of protests in favour of Jallikattu. While the protests have been largely peaceful, in an unfortunate accident, a 16-year-old boy was severely injured on Thursday after being electrocuted in a ‘Rail Roko’ protest at Salem.
According to a Facebook post by Piyush Manush, an entrepreneur and activist, the victim, Lokesh, fell from atop a train he was protesting on.
“He had joined the group that blocked the train near Salem GH diverting from the protest site for two days. He has suffered 80 performed burns and his condition is very critical. His mother Pushpa in the GH could not make much sense of what went wrong, (sic),” Manush wrote.
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However, the accident did not deter other protesters, who continued to clamber up on trains to protest the ban on the traditional sport.
On Friday morning, Manush posted another set of photos, which showed a number of protesters climbing on trains in large numbers and creating a blockade in the surrounding areas.
By 9 am on Friday, the train had already been blocked for over 20 hours. Manush wrote that the authorities had not taken appropriate steps to mitigate the situation. And despite the accident involving the teenager, the lack of action on the part of the police to restore law and order was encouraging the Rail Roko, Manush said.
Chennai is witnessing a near total shutdown as all modes of transport were hit with workers on strike.
Retailers, private taxi operators and auto rickshaw drivers, among others, also declared they will not work on Friday to support Jallikattu.
These protests continue despite Chief Minister O Panneerselvam urging protesters to withdraw their agitation as a draft ordinance allowing Jallikattu was ready.
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