Feature Image Courtesy: Thanthi
Two DMK cadres ransacked a roadside hotel in Koyammbedu run by a BJP worker who refused to donate money to them.
Devendran, 48, who hails from Seemanthamman Kovil street in Koyambedu, Chennai, runs a roadside hotel near Koyambedu market.
Muthu, the secretary of the 127th ward DMK youth wing, and Viswanathan, a DMK member, collected donations from roadside shops near Koyambedu market on 3 December 2022, claiming that they should perform pooja to Sabarimala Ayyappan.
They demanded ₹500 from Devendran while collecting money, but he refused as he didn’t have any money with him. DMK goons Muthu and Vishwanathan had threatened to close the hotel if he did not pay the donation amount. He also threatened that he will ransack the hotel once he returns from Sabarimala.
Later, on 6 December 2022, Muthu and Viswanathan—who had just returned from Sabarimala – accompanied by other goons attacked and destroyed Devendran’s shop.
It should be noted that the allegedly unlawful destruction of the roadside shop by DMK office bearers took place close to the Koyambedu police station. Devendran, the victim, reported the incident to the Koyambedu Bus Station Police Station, who conducted a preliminary investigation into the matter.
Following this, Viswanathan, 26, and Muthu, 27, of Koyambedu Seemathamman Kovil Street, were arrested yesterday for threatening and extortion of roadside shops in the name of donations.
Following an investigation, it was discovered that the accused Muthu and Vishwanathan had previously harbored animosity toward the victims. According to the police, the victim Devendran and his wife were former DMK members who left the party after the accused Muthu and Vishwanathan refused to give them a cooker given by the DMK under a welfare scheme, claiming that they could not give cookers to those who live in rented houses. As a result, Devendran and his wife left the DMK and joined the BJP last month.
(With inputs from Dinamalar)
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