DMK MLA from Thiruvottiyur constituency KP Shankar and his associates beat up an assistant engineer of Greater Chennai Corporation and also stopped the road laying work undertaken by the civic body in Natarajan garden of Thiruvottiyur on Wednesday night, The Times Of India reported.

The Corporation had reportedly allotted a tender for Rs 3 crore in the Thiruvottiyur zone to a contractor- Road Links Infrastructure- for road lying work at Natarajan Garden First Street, second and third street on Wednesday.

The MLA and his associates reached the area along with his men and demanded immediate stoppage of work by the contractor. The assistant engineer intervened to solve the issue but he was beaten up by the MLA and his men. The Minister and forcibly sent away the road mix kept for the site.

Shankar is brother of former Fisheries Minister and DMK MLA K.P.P. Samy. Both Samy and Shankar were arrested in 2011 on murder charges relating to the disappearance of two fishermen, Chelladurai and Velu.

Shankar was elected as councilor from Ward 5 of Chennai Corporation during the 2011 local body elections. Shankar, who was lodged in Vellore jail, had to petition Madras HC to allow him to take oath as councillor of Tiruvottiyur.

DMK relieves him of party position

Following the incident, DMK acted against the MLA by relieving him of party post on the grounds that he violated party discipline. He was the secretary of Thiruvottiyur West.

Opposition Demands Action

AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami urged the the ruling DMK government to take strong action against the Tiruvottiyur legislator.

In his statement,Palaniswami asked: “Even after it has come to light that the ruling party MLA was involved in violence, why was he stripped of his party post alone and why no case was registered against him?”