Tension prevailed in Eturunagaram town on Monday after an Ayyappa devotee suffered a leg injury when a speeding car carrying controversial atheist Bairi Naresh allegedly hit him, triggering a protest by Ayyappa devotees.
Earlier, on Monday afternoon, there was a commotion at the venue of an atheists’ meeting in Eturunagaram after a group of Ayyappa devotees entered into an argument with Mr. Naresh when he was about to address the meeting.
According to sources, the devotees reportedly objected to Naresh’s participation in the meeting. They accused him of making “objectionable remarks” against Lord Ayyappa in the past.
They cited a case registered against him on the charges of uttering words with deliberate intent to hurt religious feelings, at Kodangal police station in Vikarabad district in December, 2022.
In the melee, Mr. Naresh rushed to his car even as some protesters allegedly tried to chase him away. The speeding car hit an Ayyappa devotee, injuring him in the leg.
According to sources, the car then rammed into a tree abutting the Eturunagaram-Mangapet road. Mr. Naresh escaped unhurt because the airbags inflated. He soon left the site in another vehicle, leaving behind the damaged car on the roadside.
The Eturunagaram police registered a case against the car driver and launched an investigation.
