CHENNAI: In the first-ever sign of hostility towards Malayalees living in the city, Kerala commercial establishments came under attack by fringe elements of a minor political outfit at Saidapet and Thyagaraya Nagar, here on Wednesday. Six persons were arrested in connection with the incidents. “This kind of a thing has never happened before,” said Mohammed Moose (39) of Malappuram, Kerala and manager of a commercial building in Saidapet for the last 15 years. The building, which houses a bookshop, bakery, teashop and hotel, all run by Malayalees, is owned by Mohammad Kutty (69) of Kozhikode, who settled here 40 years ago.Kutty’s son Abdul Wahab (29), who runs Region Travel Books, was at the counter, when four men entered the shop around 11 am. “They enquired about my native state,” Wahab told Express. “I told them I was from Kerala. They wanted to know which place and I said Kozhikode.” The men quietly went out and entered the adjacent ‘Deepak Sweets’. Picking up soft drink bottles, they started smashing the glass shelves and a cold storage unit supplied by a beverage company. Other members of the group attacked the ‘Metro Hotel’ and ‘Hero Juice and Tea Stall’, breaking teacups, glasses and jars. An employee, Mohammed Shafi (23), was hurt when a glass shard pierced his foot.On information, a police contingent, led by Joint Commissioner (South Zone) K P Shanmugarajeswaran, rushed to the spot and held inquiries. Acting on the information, six activists of Maniyarasan-led Tamil Desiya Pothu Udamai Katchi were arrested later.The JCP identified the arrested men as Arun Bharathi, general council member of the outfit, ‘Nathigam’ Kesavan, Vetrithamizhan, Era Sezhian, Thamizhkanal and Thamizhselvan. “After failing in their bid to attack a Kerala jewellery showroom in Pondy Bazaar, they came to Saidapet,” he said.Interestingly, Mohammed Moose cited the attacks mounted against Tamil pilgrims to Sabarimala in his native state in the wake of the Mullaiperiyar row as the main reason for the unprecedented display of hostility. “Sabarimala pilgrims from TN are being attacked and the Kerala police are not providing them enough protection. This has angered the Tamils here,” he said. Eyewitnesses claimed that a newspaper banner proclaiming the plight of the Tamil pilgrims provoked the attack. Moose said security personnel had been posted outside the building after the incident. While a leading jewellery showroom downed its shutters after Tamil Desiya Pothu Udamai Katchi activists tried to stage a dharna before it, stray incidents were reported from other places. The JCP said patrolling had been intensified in the city.
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