Two employees and a security personnel of Tamil newspaper Dinakaran were killed Wednesday after supporters of DMK leader MK Azhagiri, elder son of Chief Minister K Karunanidhi, attacked the daily’s office in Madurai and set it afire.
The supporters, who hurled petrol bombs and stones at the building, went on a rampage protesting against the survey published by the Maran family-owned newspaper on who would be Karunanidhi’s possible political heir’ They destroyed newspaper machinery costing lakhs of rupees and smashed window panes.
Two victims were identified as Gopi (30) and Vinodh (25), both computer engineers. They were asphyxiated when they reentered the office to save the computers. Fire tenders took more than four hours to douse the flames. The two computer engineers were trapped inside the room when the attackers locked it after hurling the bombs around 11 am, Muthupandi, editor of the paper’s local edition said.
The body of the security personnel, Muthuramalingam (40) was found in the UPS room of the office. He had also suffocated to death. The rest of the staff inside the office escaped by scaling the wall and breaking the window panes.
The survey showed that 70 per cent preferred the chief minister’s younger son MK Stalin while two per cent wanted Azhagiri, who is based here.
Acording to the Press Trust of India (PTI), the police said 25 people were arrested in connection with the arson and violence while one was detained in connection with the deaths. Protests, which were led by Madurai Mayor Thenmozhi Gopinath Madurai, were also reported in other parts of Tamil Nadu state like Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Cumbum and Kamuthi.
The survey – “Makkal Manasu†(What People Think) – for the daily, which is owned by Karunanidhi’s grand nephew Kalanidhi Maran, brother of Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, was conducted in association with AC Nielsen.
Karunanidhi has voiced his anguish at the violence and is upset that it has come just two days before top United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leadership in New Delhi were to visit Chennai to felicitate him for completing 50 years as a legislator. Azhagiri said there was an ulterior motive behind the survey.
City Police Commissioner A Subramanian said a group led by Gopinath were the first to protest the survey when they burnt the copies of the paper in front of the Dinakaran office and dispersed. Later, a group led by an Azhagiri supporter “Attack Pandi†set ablaze the office causing extensive damage despite the presence of policemen at the site.
Another unidentified group also pelted stones at the office and burnt copies of the paper. Subramanian said cases were registered against 200 persons for picketing the road and burning the copies of the daily in the middle of the road.
Staff members of the daily staged a road roko on the Chennai-Madurai main road demanding that those behind the violence be arrested.
The office of the Vaigai TV at Shenoy Nagar in the city, distributors of the SUN TV network, was also attacked and some equipment damaged.
“When celebrations of Chief Minister’s 50 years in the assembly were due to be held, why should they cause agony and bitterness? There is ulterior motive in the survey,†Azhagiri said. He wanted the Chief Minister to take action against those who published the survey. He said Stalin himself spoke to him over phone, apologised for what had happened and also condemned the survey.
