Trader refuses donation, assaulted by VHP activist in Tiruppur

Tiruppur police have booked five members of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for assaulting a shopkeeper for refusing to pay ₹1,000 donation for erecting an idol of Lord Krishna on the eve of Krishna Jayanthi.

A couple of days ago, VHP members had approached Shiva, an electrical shop owner in Mudhalipalayam near SIDCO, demanding donation for erecting a Lord Krishna idol on August 23.

Shiva had given ₹300 to the members and gotten a receipt for the same. However, on Sunday (August 18), five other VHP members, including its Tiruppur suburban district secretary Vasanth, approached Shiva, demanding donation for the idol.

Shiva told them that he had already paid ₹300 and was ready to give another ₹300. But Vasanth and his men persisted with the ₹1,000 demand, leading to an altercation, during the course of which another VHP member Vignesh assaulted Shiva in front of his daughter and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not pay up.

A CCTV video footage showed visuals of the dispute and the assault, based on which police booked the accused.

Police said they are in the process of identifying the three other people in the video, apart from Vasanth and Vignesh. “We are also in the process of securing Vignesh and Vasanth, who assaulted the shopkeeper,” police said.