JIPMER committee members held

Puducherry, Dec 1 (UNI) As many as 190 members of the JIPMER Anti-conversion People's Action Committee, including AIADMK MLAs A Anbazhagan and Om sakthi Segar, were arrested when they attempted to organise an agitation defying police ban to condemn PMK Founder- Leader S Ramadoss here this evening.

At a recent public meeting, Dr Ramadoss had allegedly abused the leaders who spearheaded the 22-day-old JIPMER strike and also Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy.

With the PMK announcing a 'counter' agitation, police denied permission for the dharna near the Periyar statue here and the members assembled at the venue in batches and courted arrest.

CPM State Secretary V Perumal, Former Secretary T Murugan, BJP President Visveswaran and leaders of DPI and RPI were among those arrested.

The agitation was also to exert pressure on the Centre to drop the move to grant autonomy to JIPMER. Heavy police security was provided to prevent any untoward incidents.

UNI PAB GM MS RK2205