BJP vice chief breaks into Bharat Mata memorial; arrested

COIMBATORE: The Dharmapuri police on Sunday arrested BJP State vice president KP Ramalingam for breaking open the lock of Bharat Mata memorial and entering inside forcibly along with his party men.

On August 11, the BJP cadre went on a procession to the memorial and broke open the locks to garland Bharat Mata statue without obtaining due permission.

Based on a complaint, the Papparapatti police registered a case against 50 persons, including KP Ramalingam, on various charges including unlawful assembly and causing damage to public property.

On Saturday night, the police arrested the party’s Pennagaram union president Sivalingam (33) and three other functionaries identified as P Arumugam (39), T Mounaguru (36) and C Mani (53), all hailing from different areas in Dharmapuri district.

While Sivalingam has been admitted in Dharmapuri Government Hospital after he claimed to be unwell, others were produced in a court in Pennagaram and lodged in prison.

Meanwhile, KP Ramalingam was picked up by a police team from his house in Koneripatti village in Rasipuram in Namakkal on Sunday.

Before producing in court, Ramalingam was taken to Pennagaram Government Hospital for a check-up.

After he claimed to be unwell and was found with high blood pressure, Ramalingam was taken to Dharmapuri Government Hospital for treatment.