Angry mob blocks NH near Hosur; damages vehicles

An angry mob that slowly swelled into thousands blocked a section of the national highway connecting Chennai with Bengaluru for five hours, damaged vehicles and injured policemen at Gobasandiram village near the industrial city of Hosur on Thursday in protest against inspection of bulls hours before the erudhu vidum vizha (bull festival) was to be held.

The mob went on a rampage vandalizing government and private vehicles and pelted stones at policemen who used force, including firing tear gas shells, to disperse them. At least 10 policemen suffered “simple injuries” in the stone pelting by the crowd even as nearly 10 vehicles were damaged.

Youngsters stopped trucks going to Bengaluru and climbed atop them to protest against the district administration for its “failure” to grant a nod for the bull sporting event. They then went on breaking glass panes of vehicles that were stranded on the highway, giving a tough time to the police.

The protesters blocked a section of the highway for over five hours leading to heavy traffic snarls on the busy NH connecting two the capital cities of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Krishnagiri district authorities said the villagers of Gobasandiram sought permission to conduct the bull festival on Thursday in their hamlet but objected to inspection of the bulls in the morning as it clashed with the launch of the sporting event.

Upset with the government directive to conduct the inspection of bull, which is mandatory, the villagers who were joined by those from neighbouring hamlets, began to converge on the NH, thereby blocking the road.

Officials said the villagers applied for permission for today’s event only on January 30, 2023 against the mandatory period of two weeks. Even after granting permission for the sporting event, they pointed out, at a very short notice, the villagers objected to inspection of the bulls by a team consisting of experts from several departments.

As the situation went out of control with thousands blocking the highway, Krishnagiri district collector V Jaya Chandra Banu Reddy and Superintendent of Police Saroj Kumar Thakur arrived at the spot and asked the crowd to vacate the highway.

By this time, the district administration also allowed conduct of the event, following which the crowd dispersed. Thakur told reporters that a few policemen received “simple injuries” and there was no major loss of property while admitting that 10 buses were damaged.

The Opposition quickly blamed the DMK government for the “deteriorating law and order” situation with Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami pointing to an intelligence failure.