Tirupur: Dravidar Kazhagam cadres on Friday petitioned district superintendent of police A Kayalvizhi, urging her to transfer the investigation into the desecration of a Periyar statue in Dharapuram to the crime branch-criminal investigation department (CB-CID).“Accused K Naveen Kumar of Thalavaipattinam would not have involved in the crime alone. There could be some forces behind him. We heard that some people were trying to influence Dharapuram police and stop them from arresting those behind the scene,” Petitioner K Shanmugam said.“When the judicial magistrate court was hearing Naveen’s bail petition, his counsel had lauded police, saying they were conducting a fair investigation. We were shocked when the accused’s counsel appreciated the efforts of the police. We don’t believe that Dharapuram police could conduct the investigations properly and bring the real culprits before the law. So, the case should be handed over to CB-CID,” the petition said.“Naveen had trespassed into Periyar Thidal Park maintained by us. He had damaged public property by damaging the statue. He also tried to create enmity between two groups. Those crimes were not taken into account when the FIR was filed. There could be criticism against Periyar E V Ramasamy, but they should be voiced democratically. But the accused acted against democracy,” the petition added.Meanwhile, opposition parties passed a resolution demanding that Naveen should be detained under the goondas Act.

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