Eleven pro-Tamil activists have been arrested in connection with the footwear hurling episode during the Indian Premier League tie between Chennai Super League and Kolkata Knight Riders, police said on Wednesday.
A number of pro-Tamil outfits had staged agitations outside the MA Chidambaram Stadium against the conduct of IPL, saying it was being held to divert attention from the ongoing protests seeking formation of the Cauvery Management Board. Police also stated that the eleven activists were also arrested for raising slogans on the Cauvery issue.
The footwear was thrown into the ground during the eight over of the Kolkata innings and fell close to substitute fielders Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi, who had taken a stroll along the boundary line.
“Their action had amounted to affecting public peace,” a police release said. “They were produced before a court and remanded to custody.” Similarly, 10 people were arrested for allegedly attacking a policeman while staging anti-IPL protests, another release said.
When the accused were stopped from proceeding to the stadium, they allegedly attacked a policeman. The injured policeman suffered a cut in his lip and lost teeth as a result of the assault and was rushed to a hospital. Police are on the lookout for two other persons wanted in connection with the incident.
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