Lorry rams into Periyar statue in Villupuram, damages it
The Hindu
Police said the incident was an accident; DMK cadre picketed the police station demanding action; the lorry driver has been arrested
A life-size statue of social reformer Periyar E.V. Ramasamy was damaged after a container lorry rammed into it, on Kamaraj Salai, in Villupuram town on Wednesday at midnight. Ruling out the incident as an act of miscreants, police said that it was an accident and the driver of the lorry had been detained.
Police said the statue was installed about 40 years ago at the intersection of Kamaraj Salai in the town. The container lorry, carrying tyres from a factory in Nettapakkam in Puducherry ,was going to Pune. The incident occurred when the lorry driver Mahendra Sable was reversing the vehicle, and in the process, rammed into the statue. Under the impact of the collision, the statue and the pedestal toppled.