Periyar statue desecration: Coimbatore police invoke NSA against Bharat Sena functionary

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore city police have invoked the National Security Act against Bharat Sena functionary M Arun Krishnan, who was arrested for the desecration of a statue of late social activist Periyar E V Ramasamy.
City police commissioner Sumit Sharan issued the detention order on Tuesday evening.
The commissioner said, “Stringent action would be taken against everyone who attempts to disturb communal harmony in the city, irrespective of the outfit they belong to.”
On July 17, tension gripped the city after the Periyar statue at Sundarapuram was found desecrated with saffron paint on it.Within a few hours, the outfit leaders handed over Arun Krishnan, 21, who had smeared the paint on the statue.
Arun Krishnan is the south district organiser of Bharat Sena in Coimbatore and worked in a private company.
According to police, the accused desecrated the statue in retaliation for a derogatory video about Kanda Sashti Kavacham posted by a YouTube channel named Karuppar Koottam.
Arun Krishnan was booked under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison.