The police had clamped prohibitory orders (section 144) on Sunday after talks between leaders of the farmers’ forum and district collector V Palanikumar failed.
There is no let up in the controversy over land grab allegations against Karnataka high court chief justice Paul Daniel Dinakaran. While several lawyers abstained from the proceedings of the high court in Bangalore on Monday to protest against the continuance of justice Dinakaran, more than 1,000 villagers were rounded up in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, to prevent them from storming and “reclaiming” the government land allegedly encroached upon by the chief justice.
The protest was staged by the CPI(M)’s Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam (farmers’ forum) and the Thalam Charitable Trust to “reclaim the land in Kaverirajapuram, 90 km from Chennai.
The police said 316 persons (277 men and 39 women) were taken into preventive custody “unlawful assembly” under section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code for, but VM Raman of the trust said more than 1,000 people were detained and released by evening.
The police had clamped prohibitory orders (section 144) on Sunday after talks between leaders of the farmers’ forum and district collector V Palanikumar failed. The district collector had tried to dissuade the farmers from going ahead with the protest as the government was apprised of the matter.
“We want the government to immediately retrieve the encroached land and re-distribute them among the landless poor under a state scheme. Our next protest will be stronger and we will chalk out our plan within a week,” Raman told DNA.
Reacting to the protest, chief minister M Karunanidhi warned CPI(M) of trying to “reclaim” the government land. He said the government had not refused to take action in the case involving chief justice Dinakaran, but it has to follow norms.Accusing the Left of having double standards, he said the CPI(M) remained silent when a similar case of land grab was filed against former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}