Policemen pulling and clearing students during Jallikattu protest in Coimbatore.
Highlights
- Protests turn violent at Marina Beach after police orders eviction
- Police resort to baton charge and tear gas after sporadic stone-pelting
- Protesters say won't relent till ban on Jallikattu is lifted permanently
Protests in support of bull-taming festival Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu turned violent today as the police physically removed thousands of protesters at Chennai's Marina Beach, in Madurai and in Coimbatore. Clashes through the day blocked the Old Mahabalipuram Road that is called Chennai's IT corridor, home to IT offices and engineering colleges. Protesters alleged that the police used force and women were injured. Cars were set on fire outside a police station near the beach. The police blamed the violence on "anti-social elements" insinuating themselves in the crowd. The police crackdown on protesters comes ahead of the Republic Day celebrations on Thursday and worries of a security breach.
Here are the latest developments in this big story.
There were some 5,000 protesters at the Marina Beach when the police arrived at 5 am and physically removed men, women and children. Protesters threw stones at the police, who had blocked all the roads to the beach and also stopped the supply of food and water to the protest site. The police used batons and tear gas to control the crowds.
Visuals showed a man falling to the ground after being hit by a police baton. Some protesters claimed that pregnant women were pushed as the police used force on the people. Some women had babies in their arms.
Protesters were also bodily removed at Madurai's Alanganallur, where villagers have agreed to hold a Jallikattu event after it was cancelled yesterday just when Chief Minister O Panneerselvam was to inaugurate it. The police said a section refused to leave despite their comrades agreeing to the event. 82 people have been detained by the police.
In Coimbatore, the police removed hundreds from a large ground where they had been protesting for six days.
At the Marina Beach, protesters camping since Tuesday threatened to block Republic Day celebrations despite the state government's ordinance or special order to bypass a Supreme Court ban on Jallikattu.
People from fishing villages nearby brought supplies in boats with black flags but were stopped by the police. Later, scores ran back into the beach, slipping past barricades.
Denying the use of excessive force, a senior police officer told reporters, "We requested them to leave two-three times. Some of them were willing to go, but the rest said they wanted more time."
On Sunday, Jallikattu returned to parts of the state following the state government's ordinance. Two men were gored to death by a bull at Pudukottai and a third man reportedly died of thirst.
The ordinance has to be cleared within six months for it to become law. Mr Panneerselvam has promised that it will be passed in the assembly session which begins today.
Jallikattu, a tradition in which young men wrestle with a bull in an open field during the harvest festival of Pongal, was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014. Last year, the Centre allowed it, but that decision was challenged in the Supreme Court. The court has agreed to not deliver its verdict this week after the centre pointed out that a decision could create law and order problems.
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