Activists of BPJ, Hindu outfits arrested

Coimbatore, Feb 14 (UNI) Over 800 activists, including 40 women, of the BJP and various Hindu outfits were arrested today, when they tried to pay homage to bomb blast victims at R S Puram by lighting lamps.

The activists of the outfits, including Hindu Munnani, RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) along with the BJP activists tried to light lamps at the blast site, even after the police denied permission for holding a condolence meeting there.

The activists, led by former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, demanded construction of a pillar at the blast site, where the incident claimed over 50 lives and injured over 250 on February 14, 1998.

The police had made tight security arrangements at R S Puram area.

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