The police on Wednesday arrested two Hindu Munnani workers on charge of vandalising the shrine and statue of St. Sebastian at the entrance of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Ramanathapuram, on Sunday night.The arrested were Madankumar (23) alias ‘Milky’ of Vellalore and a 16-year-old boy, a Class X student, from Olympus.The police were on the lookout for two more persons Deepak and Marudhachalamurthy alias Murthy who are also members of the Hindu Munnani.Preliminary investigations by the police found that the accused vandalised the the statue, accusing forced religious conversion as the reason behind the suicide of the Class XII student in Thanjavur.
According to the police, the 16-year-old boy, a Class X student, dropped Deepak at the entrance of the church at Ramanathapuram junction on Tiruchi Road in a two-wheeler around 10 p.m. on Sunday. They wore helmets. The gate was locked and Deepak scaled it as the boy left the place. He broke the glass pane of the shrine and vandalised the saint’s statue with a brick. Marudhachalamurthy came to the spot in another two-wheeler and picked up Deepak as he came out after defacing the statue. They fled the spot before the security guard could secure them, the police said.Madankumar kept a watch on the road as the vandalism took place.The police zeroed in on the accused with the help of visuals from surveillance cameras.Madankumar was produced before a judge and remanded in judicial custody. The minor boy was produced before the juvenile justice board. He was sent to the observation home for juveniles at Lakshmi Mills Junction. (Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by dialling ‘Sneha’ 24X7 helpline at 044-24640050)
