Protests at Perambalur, Ariyalur, Villupuram and other areas where the party is strong also turned destructive with the party cadres allegedly damaging Government buses and property.

Alleging a nexus between the police and their political masters, Mani said that his party was of the view that most of the violent protests that happened in the state following Guru’s arrest, including burning of the bus in Tiruppur, were their handiwork to malign the party.

Ariyalur district police, who arrested Guru on Saturday morning, denied that they had compelled anybody to give a complaint against Guru, and were approaching the court to get Guru under their custody for questioning. “Once the chargesheet is filed, the petition can be withdrawn only in the court. Guru has been remanded till July 18 in the case and that will continue,” said Ariyalur Superintendent of Police Krishnamoorthi.

According to police sources in the district, the desire to withdraw the complaints may have come after intense pressure — both political and financial — and even threats from Guru and his followers. “Our intelligence sources reported that the complainants were made to sign on a blank paper into which the withdrawal announcement was written later,” alleged a senior official.

Guru, Ramadoss’s disciple No. 1

As the president of Vanniyar Sangam, Guru has considerable clout in the northern districts of the State including Ariyalur and Perambalur. He is also close to PMK founder S Ramadoss, who had earlier referred to Guru as his foster son.

Due to this closeness, whenever Guru raised issues with alliance partners — most recently with the DMK — it was said that he was doing so with Ramadoss’ consent, if not for Ramadoss.

... contd.