A statue of Dravidian ideologue ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy, in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukkottai district, was found vandalised on Monday, 8 April. The police investigation is underway, reported ANI.
This incident marks the return of the ‘statue wars,’ ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the state on 18 April.
No arrests have been made in connection with the case yet.
Similar Incident, One Year Ago
One year ago, in March 2018, a CRPF jawan was arrested for vandalising the statue of Periyar, in the same district. The head of the statue was torn apart on 20 March, and was reinstated a few hours later.
Senthil Kumar, the jawan, was placed under suspension, and the CRPF had said he was under treatment for Schizophrenia and was on a 30-day leave when the incident happened.
“All of the statues of Periyar must be given due protection across Tamil Nadu,” DMK’s working president MK Stalin had reportedly said after the vandalism last year.
Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth had then condemned the vandalism, calling it an “act of barbarism.”
(With inputs from ANI)
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