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Fearing violence, people stay indoors

Ganesh Nadar in Kanyakumari

An uneasy peace prevailed in south Tamil Nadu following the arrest of former chief minister M Karunanidhi, his son M K Stalin, former DMK ministers and party functionaries on Saturday.

People everywhere have refrained from venturing into the streets fearing violence by DMK cadres. Shops in most cities downed shutters and very few vehicles were plying on the roads.

In Madurai, where Karunanidhi's son Alagiri was taken into preventive custody in the morning, all buses were off the roads though a few shops were open.

Alagiri's wife Kandhi, however, did not appear to be unduly concerned by his arrest. "During the assembly elections, everybody knew that Alagiri worked against DMK candidates," she said by way of explanation.

In the southernmost Kanyakumari district, some shops had closed down while others had their shutters half-open. There is no activity in the district headquarters Nagercoil where most shops have closed down.

In the port city of Tuticorin, cops have taken all lower rung leaders of the DMK into preventive custody. Schools have declared a holiday and buses are off the roads.

Same was the case in Coimbatore while in Tiruchi, in central Tamil Nadu, few government buses were plying with security.

Karunanidhi's Arrest: The Complete Coverage

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