Cases against 9 AIADMK leaders

Madurai, June 20: Unidentified men burnt a car and a vehicle belonging to former City Mayor and DMK Leader P Kulandaivelu, at his house in the posh K K Nagar early today.

According to police, the gang scaled the compound wall of the former mayor's house and set the vehicles on fire after dousing them with petrol.

The vehicles were completely burnt. The gang fled the scene immediately under the cover of darkness.

Mr Kulandaivelu lodged a complaint with the Anna Nagar Police who registered a case against nine AIADMK leaders, including former ministers Pollachi Jayaraman, V T Natarajan and Anita Radhakrishnan and MLA P K Sekar Babu.

Meanwhile, allies of the DMK-led DPA presented a memorandum to the Election Observer seeking protection for their party workers engaged in campaigning.

Tamil Nadu ministers K Ponmudi and E V Velu, CPI(M) MP, P Mohan and a host of DMK and Congress functionaries demanded stringent action against the perpetrators of the crime, which they claimed was intended to postpone the June 26 by-election and sought protection for the Congress candidate K S K Rajendran.

The memorandum charged the AIADMK with instigating violence with the ulterior motive of deferring the election.

In his reaction, Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi condemned the incident which, he said, was perpetrated by those who wanted to win the election by any means.

UNI