Security breach ahead of Vice-President’s visit to Town Hall in Coimbatore

In a security breach, two men managed to break police bandobust and ride a two-wheeler through a barricaded stretch of Big Bazaar Street at Town Hall in Coimbatore, minutes before the scheduled arrival of Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan on Tuesday. Commotion prevailed as the incident took place at 2.30 p.m. when the motorcade of the Vice-President was scheduled to leave for the venue from Circuit House, around 1 km away. The police said the two men, who breached security from the Victoria Hall (Town Hall) junction side, managed to ride through the barricaded road for about 200 metres. They fell from the vehicle near St. Michael’s Cathedral and ran away. BJP supporters, who were standing behind barricades on the opposite side of the Corporation office, stepped on to the road and raised slogans. “The police could not stop two men from entering a ‘high security’ area created for the Vice-President. How will they ensure the safety of the public,” a BJP supporter asked. The arrival of the Vice-President was delayed for 30 minutes due to the incident. He reached the venue at 3 p.m. and garlanded the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, in the presence of BJP State president Nainar Nagenthran and Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan. He then took a stroll through the barricaded road and interacted with the public and BJP workers. The police arrested the rider of the two-wheeler, Ashik of Ukkadam, and were on the lookout for pillion rider Anish Rahman, who had previously been booked in drug peddling cases. The police claimed the two persons were under the influence of alcohol when they rode the two-wheeler.