Rajinikanth denounces violence during anti-IPL stir

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Wednesday demanded strict action against those who thrashed policemen during the anti-IPL protests, saying that violence was no solution to the Cauvery row.

The superstar took to Twitter to share a video of a protestor hitting a police personnel and said, "The worst form of violence in law and order situation is attack on uniformed personnel on duty. This form of violence has to be tackled immediately as it poses grave danger to our country."

"We need more stringent laws to punish the perpetrators of attack on police personnel on duty," he added.

Earlier in the day, 21 Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) party workers were arrested and sent to Puzhal Central Prison a day after they held protests over Cauvery issue outside Chennai's Chepauk Stadium in a bid to stop an IPL match held there.

The arrested party workers were charged for beating up policemen on duty who were deployed to curb the protest and ensure the match to be held between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was played without trouble.

Cases were also registered against lyricist Vairamuthu Ramasamy, director P Bharathiraja, MLA Karunas and 500 other protesters at Trilplicane police station.

The protestors were demanding that the IPL matches not be held when a more pressing matter - the Centre's failure to constitute the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) - was at the fore.

On February 16, the court had ordered the Central government to set up the CMB and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) within six weeks.

The non-compliance of the apex court's order triggered protests across the state.