People's Democracy

TAMILNADU

CPI(M) Protests Land Grabbers Attack

S P Rajendran

A petrol bomb was hurled at the residence of K Kanagaraj, Thoothukudi district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on January 7 night, injuring his wife Vijaya. The incident took place around 10 pm when Vijaya was alone. She suffered a minor injury on her left arm.

This attack had taken place in the background of the Party's continuous struggle against the land mafia headed by a DMK advocate Selvam, who is trying to grab nearly 915 acres of fertile land of the poor farmers belonging to Theivaseyalpuram, a village near the southern port city of Thoothukudi.

Kanagaraj said that CPI (M) cadre would not be deterred by this act of cowardice. The law and order situation had deteriorated in Thoothukudi.

Vijaya lodged a complaint with Thoothukudi South police.

Earlier during the day, the CPI (M) cadre including Arjunan, Mariyappan, Varadha Vinayaga Moorthy were attacked and injured by the DMK advocate Selvam and his associates at the district court complex. Protesting this attack, K Kanagaraj and Party cadres staged a road roko and demanded the arrest of the attackers. But the police arrested Kanagaraj and the Party cadres with force.

CPI (M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan strongly condemned the attacks on the Party cadres and on the house of the Party's Thoothukudi district secretary and criticised the police inaction.

In a statement, he said that it was surprising that no arrests were made. Besides immediately arresting those who had indulged in the attack, the police should give protection to the Party's frontline leaders in the district, he demanded.

In a letter to the director general of police (DGP), he demanded criminal action against DMK advocate K Selvam and his associates for assaulting the Party leaders.

He said Selvam had tried to acquire the lands of farmers in Theivaseyalpuram in the district. While the police had filed a case against Selvam for destroying lands and properties of farmers, local CPI(M) leaders distributed pamphlets explaining the reasons behind the police action even as some of  the advocates boycotted the court in support of Selvam.

The CPI(M) also staged a statewide protest condemning the attack. On January 11, a massive demonstration was held at Thoothukudi. G Ramakrishnan and others participated. Earlier P Sampath, state secretariat member visited the injured.