By IANS,
Chennai : Tamil Nadu was largely peaceful Sunday and the funeral of a man who set himself ablaze in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils did not witness any untoward incidents. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi offered to send doctors and paramedics to the island nation to render assistance to over 10,000 people injured in the military conflict there.
The state was peaceful except for a clash inside the central prison in Coimbatore between rioting prisoners and authorities that injured three warders, police sources told IANS.
Armed police pickets posted at all vulnerable points maintained a vigil across the state, they added.
The funeral of S. Siva Prakasam, 60, who succumbed to burns after Saturday’s self-immolation bid, passed off quietly in the southern outskirts of Chennai.
After laying a wreath on the body of the deceased, state Finance Minister and DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan appealed to party cadres to desist from such attempts “as it would serve no earthly purpose but cause agony to the immediate family”.
Meanwhile, Karunanidhi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: “To render care and assistance to the 10,000 persons injured in Sri Lanka since Jan 15, your immediate intervention is needed to work out modalities with the Government of Sri Lanka for early dispatches of medical teams, equipments and medicines.
“From Jan 15 till date, about 36,000 people have moved out of the war-zone and have been relocated to make-shift camps and it is heartrending to note that about 10,000 people among them are suffering from the injuries inflicted in the crossfire,” Karunanidhi observed.
A section of advocates, who had last week clashed with police, exhorted the judiciary to order police officials responsible for damages to buildings and vehicles to compensate losses.
Police commissioner K. Radhakrishnan said in a press statement that all documents pertaining to the clashes between advocates and police personnel had been forwarded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to help its probe.
The Madras High Court registrar invited applications from the owners of vehicles damaged during the clashes, according to officials.
Acting Chief Justice S. Mukhopadhyay Saturday ordered all courts till Tuesday to carry out repairs to damaged buildings and fixtures.