When PMK unleashed a tirade against cinestar Rajnikanth for ‘glamourising’ smoking in his movie Baba a few years ago, Guru and his followers snatched the film’s prints to stop its screening in his hometown.

Closeness to our leader and his own rising clout in the Vanniyar stronghold had made the DMK wary of Guru, said PMK leaders, adding that this was the reason for his defeat from Jayamkondam Assembly constituency in the last election. Even Guru himself had openly alleged that DMK men in the area had a hand in his defeat by a little over 2,000 votes, though the parties had an electoral understanding.

While Guru enjoys considerable clout in his stronghold, there are many cases filed against him in several police stations of the area. Police sources claimed that Guru was also indulging in running kangaroo courts which earned him good money for settling issues.