A 42-year-old man was arrested by Arakkonam Taluk police for allegedly damaging the car of Vinoth Gandhi, son of Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi, when he tried to enter the polling centre on polling day.
Police said that the accused has been identified as K. Vairamuthu, a local PMK functionary. During the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, Mr. Vinoth, along with a few local cadres, visited the polling booth at the Government High School in Chitheri village near Arakkonam town. Being the chief booth agent for the DMK, Mr. Vinoth possessed a vehicle pass issued by the election officer to enter polling centres.
However, police said that local PMK cadres objected to his entry and allegedly stopped Mr. Vinoth’s car as vehicles were not allowed within 100 metres of the polling booth. Subsequently, an altercation broke out between the DMK and the PMK functionaries near the booth. In the melee, police said the rear windshield of Mr. Vinoth’s car was damaged by people in the crowd while he was leaving the spot.
Based on a complaint by Mr. Vinoth, Arakkonam DSP Venkatesan led a probe into the incident. Subsequently, the accused was arrested and later lodged at Arakkonam sub-jail, police said.
