Following reports of threats to his life from right-wing activists, anti-caste writer D Ravikumar has claimed that the Puducherry government has asked police to provide him security, The Hindu reported on Thursday. Ravikumar’s political party, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi led by Thol Thirumavalavan, had urged both the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments to provide him security.
Political organisation Dravidar Kazhagam has also urged the Tamil Nadu government to give protection to Ravikumar. “[Reports of threats] should worry not just members of the VCK but also the general public,” K Veeramani, the president of the Dravidar Kazhagam, said. “Dissent is a fundamental aspect of democracy.”
Ravikumar is a former member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the general secretary of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.
On Monday, his party chief Thirumavalavan met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami with a similar request. Later, in a letter to Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Thirumavalavan wrote that the intelligence wing of the Tamil Nadu Police had informed him about the threat.
“It has come to our knowledge that persons who were arrested in connection with the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru [in September 2017] had a list of targets, including Ravikumar,” Thirumavalavan had said earlier.
Ravikumar told The Hindu that Narayanasamy had informed him that the government had given directions for security to the Director General of Police.
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