NAGERCOIL: A 60-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly attaching a saffron flag to a statue of CN Annadurai statue at Kuzhithurai junction in Kanniyakumari district. Police said that the man seemed to have intellectual disabilities. Police on night rounds had noticed a saffron flag tied to a grill around the statue of the former Tamil Nadu chief minister on Wednesday night. Based on this, the police team registered a complaint with the Kaliyakkavilai police.
The Kaliyakkavilai police spotted the 60-year-old roaming around in the area on Thursday and arrested him. As he appeared to be intellectually disabled, they have registered a case under Section 24 of the Mental Health Act.
Earlier, the tying of the saffron flag -- linked to the BJP and the Hindu right-wing movement -- was roundly condemned by major political parties in the State. Deputy Chief Minister and coordinator of the AIADMK, O Panneerselvam, on Thursday, tweeted his condemnation. He said the State government would take stern action against those who engage in acts that amount to insulting leaders, who were involved in public service, thereby causing law and order problems.
DMK president MK Stalin tweeted that the people behind such acts do so as they don't have anything unique by which to identify themselves.
The incident in Kanniyakumari follows the recent desecration of statues of ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy in Coimbatore and Kallakurichi. In Coimbatore, a Periyar statue was splashed by saffron paint allegedly by a member of the Bharat Sena.