DMK functionary, supporters booked for defacing name board at Pollachi

DMK functionary ‘Thendral’ Selvaraj defacing a sign board at Pollachi railway station on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Sunday booked a DMK functionary and four others for defacing the Hindi words on the signage at the Pollachi Junction.

The RPF registered a case against ‘Thendral’ Selvaraj, who is in-charge of DMK’s legal wing for Coimbatore south, and four others.

According to the Palakkad Division of the Southern Railway, a group of men entered Pollachi Junction around 7.20 a.m. on Sunday and defaced the Hindi lettering on one of the signs at the station using black paint.

RPF personnel, who were on duty at the station, detained the individuals and registered a case against them for offences under Sections 166 (defacing public notices), 147 (trespass and refusal to desist from trespass), and 145 (b) (commits any nuisance or act of indecency or uses abusive or obscene language) of the Railways Act, 1989.

Sources said Mr. Selvaraj and his supporters defaced the name board to protest against the Centre’s alleged move to impose Hindi under the garb of the National Education Policy (NEP).

A video of the incident, which was circulated on social media, showed Mr. Selvaraj and the others applying black paint over the lettering ‘Pollachi Junction’ written in Hindi. The defaced station name board was promptly restored by the Palakkad Division, a statement said.