Sacred threads of 10 people were cut off by a group of eight in Triplicane near Chennai on Wednesday morning, said police. A senior officer said the incident happened at around 7 am within the limits of Ice House police station.

“All the 10 were either bare chested or were returning from a temple nearby. The men had raised slogans praising Periyar. Police teams are searching for the gang now,” the officer said.

The incident follows a provocational statement by BJP national secretary H Raja on Tuesday wherein he threatened to destroy statues of Periyar in Tamil Nadu, like Lenin’s in Tripura.

Following his statement, a Periyar statue was vandalised in Vellore on Tuesday night and petrol bombs were hurled at a BJP office in Coimbatore in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Two of the ten accused that Chennai Police are on the lookout for. Two of the ten accused that Chennai Police are on the lookout for.

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