Chennai: Leader of the opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and AIADMK chief whip Agri S S Krishnamurthy moved special call-attention motions over the murder of a college student in Coimbatore and ongoing tribal protests in Theni.Raising the Coimbatore incident, Udhayanidhi cited the victim Amudhan’s parents and alleged police apathy. He claimed that Amudhan’s father had said that his son had tipped off the police about a gang involved in drug peddling, but the police allegedly leaked the information to the peddlers, who then ganged up and beat the student to death.“Why did the police act in such a lethargic manner,” Udhayanidhi asked, demanding that the state govt take “complete responsibility” for the incident, which he noted was the fourth such crime reported in the state over the past three days.Responding to the allegations, school education minister A Rajmohan said that the clash stemmed from a personal rivalry between two student groups. “It was a group clash due to prior enmity,” Rajmohan said. Speaker J C D Prabhakar intervened, instructing the minister to present a detailed response when the call-attention motion is taken up for formal debate on Monday.Separately, AIADMK whip Agri S S Krishnamurthy and Theni MLA Maharajan raised the ongoing protests by forest dwellers across 98 tribal villages in the Meghamalai and Varusunadu regions, who are resisting an eviction drive triggered by a Supreme Court order.Replying to the issue, public works department minister Aadhav Arjuna assured the House that the state govt stands firmly with the tribal community and will engage senior advocates to fight the matter legally in the Supreme Court. Arjuna justified the police deployment at the site, saying it was necessary to maintain order, as Supreme Court had directed the involvement of paramilitary forces if the state fails to execute the order.
