People protest against accident, police resort to lathicharge

TIRUCHIRAPALLI: Tension prevailed for a while at Beemanagar area in the city today following police resorted to lathicharge to disperse a agitating crowd of people who were protesting against a road roko accident. Police said the people were protesting against an accident in which a 55-yearold vegetable vendor was killed on the spot and three others, including a sevenyear- old boy, were injured when a private bus ploughed into a crowd at a bus stop in Beemanagar in the city today. The deceased was identifi ed as Sakthivel. The injured were admitted to two separate hospitals in the city. The agitators, mostly local residents, pelted stones in which windscreens of the bus was totally damaged. In the stone pelting incident, Murugavel, Inspector of Police, Ballakarai Police Station, were injured. He was admitted to Government Head-quartered Hospital. To prevent from the situation going out of control, police resorted to lathicharge, chased the protesters and restored normalcy. Police secured over ten agitators, including CPI (M) District Secretary Sridhar.