Shops remained shut and public transport was hit in Coimbatore on Friday after religious group Hindu Munnani called for a statewide bandh to mark the murder of its spokesperson Sasikumar,The Hindu reported. Sasikumar was hacked to death by unidentified assailants on Thursday while he was on his way home in Subramaniampalayam. The organisation's state President Kadeswara C Subramaniam said Tamil Nadu will become "another Gujarat" if attacks on the group's members continue. Subramaniam's comment appears to be a reference to the 2002 riots in Gujarat, The New Indian Express reported.
Commercial establishments in several parts of the city remained closed while private buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws did not ply in most parts of the city. Although government and Coimbatore Corporation-run schools were open, other schools did not conduct classes on Friday.
Officials said more than 500 security personnel were deployed in Coimbatore and that additional support was brought in from Tirupur and Dharmapuri districts. Security was increased outside the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where Sasikumar's body has been kept.
A bus driver sustained injuries after some men, protesting against the murder, pelted stones at the vehicle while it was parked, The Indian Express reported. A group reportedly committed arson in a minority dominant area in Ukkadam.
The Hindu Munnani had announced a bandh on September 13, after a garment unit owned by the group's member was set ablaze, The New Indian Express reported. Police and the local administration, however, reportedly diffused the situation and got the group to cancel the bandh. The organisation protested against the incident on September 18 in Coimbatore.
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