Jeyamohan In Altercation With Store Keeper Over Idli Batter

Selvam, a grocery store owner in Parvathipuram in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari district, was arrested for assaulting film writer Jeyamohan after a fight over spoilt idli batter on Saturday.

This incident created quite a stir when it was reported that the grocer was a DMK member, and the delay in police action was due to pressure from DMK in the district. Many on Twitter said that Jeyamohan was a BJP and RSS supporter, and him accusing a DMK member of assault had a political motive.

BJP national secretary H Raja came to Jeyamohan’s support and said that the attacker must be punished. He also shared an article criticising DMK and its leader MK Stalin.

However, Jeyamohan, and poet and filmmaker Leena Manimekalai, who accompanied him to the police station, maintained that there was political pressure from the BJP to delay the case, and not DMK, since Selvam’s brother was a BJP functionary.

Jeyamohan wrote on his website yesterday that he was assaulted, and said that the attacker was member of DMK. He recounted the incident and said he purchased two packets of idli batter on Friday and came home only to realise that it was old and expired. He returned to the store to complain about the batter but was attacked by Selvam who was allegedly drunk.

“The attacker is a member of DMK. What I faced was entirely an assault. His wife takes care of the shop and accuses him of neglecting his responsibilities. They were fighting about it when I went. I intervened to ask about the batter when he started attacking me, but he was not in a conscious state,” Jeyamohan says, adding that he later got to know about his background in criminal activities.

Jeyamohan returned home and decided to ignore the incident but Selvam came to his house and started verbally abusing him, his wife and daughter. On their advice he approached the Nesamony Nagar police and lodged a complaint. Selvam was arrested and booked under the Indian Penal Code Section 294 (b) (uttering obscene words to verbally abuse), Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and Section 506 (2) (criminal intimidation).

Jeyamohan says DMK district secretary Mahesh approached the police to find out about the incident. Following this, it was widely reported that the DMK was trying to bail him out.

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“Selvam is a DMK member. I didn’t know about the attack and headed to the police station. Here I found out that Selvam had attacked writer Jeyamohan. So I immediately returned,” Mahesh was quoted in a Vikatan report.

Jeyamohan says Mahesh saw his state and apologised for the incident. He says he believes in the DMK as a party, and has met Karunanidhi in the past and is his follower. “The people involved in the incident are not DMK, but Selvam’s siblings who have other political influences. I will reveal who they are later. There is nothing to hide,” he said.

Selvam’s lawyers were trying to delay the case by alleging that Selvam and his wife were injured and needed treatment, when the doctors had denied this, writes Jeyamohan. Other politicians had already reached the station when he and Leena Manimekalai got there.

Filmmaker Leena also said in a Facebook post on Friday that Selvam’s older brother was affiliated with the BJP and due to the BJP’s pressure on the police there was a delay in action.

Jeyamohan is best known for his novels and short stories, and has also written the story and screenplay to over dozen movies including Naan Kadavul, Kadal, Papanasam, 2.0 and Sarkar.

Image Courtesy: The Straits Times