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Union ministers injured on eve of poll; security to be beefed up

Three people were injured when the police resorted to a lathicharge to prevent supporters of Tamizh Rajiv Congress leader Vazhappadi K Ramamurthy from entering the district collectorate where he filed his nomination papers for the Salem Lok Sabha seat.

When supporters of the TRC and its allies, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Pattali Makkal Katchi, who came in large numbers, were stopped at the entrance by the police, they tried to gatecrash into the collectorate in which two policemen were injured.

The police then resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd, injuring three persons.

Meanwhile, the police arrested 20 people in connection with the attempted attack on Union ministers and Tamil Maanila Congress leaders M Arunachalam and Dhanushkodi Adityan at Vannarpettai in Tirunelveli district, on Tuesday.

The ministers were attacked by a mob while they were returning after filing their nomination papers from the Tenkasi and Tiruchendur constituencies.

In Madras, Tamil Nadu chief electoral officer, K A Mathew said 100 companies of paramilitary forces had been sought for maintaining law and order during the Lok Sabha poll, in the state.

He said the paramiliutary forces sought included personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. One hundred thousand police personnel including 45,000 state police, 18,000 ex-servicemen and 5,000 home guards, would be deployed, he added.

Mathew said more security forces would be posted in the "sensitive" areas identified by the Election Commission, including the southern districts in the wake of Tuesday's attack.

UNI

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