Date:08/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/08/stories/2007070854410100.htm

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Violence during MTC coop. poll

Karthik Subramanian

CHENNAI: Elections to the housing cooperative society of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) on Saturday were marred by violence. A fight between the CITU and the ruling party-backed unions spilled over to Anna Salai and police resorted to lathicharge.

Eight persons were injured in the full-blown fisticuffs between the contesting parties, after the polling was stalled in the afternoon.

They have been admitted to the Government Hospital. A few others were also injured when police lathicharged the warring factions in front of Pallavan House, the MTC headquarters around 2.30 p.m. Traffic was halted for nearly 30 minutes due to the fracas. Passengers and crew members in some of the buses fled the scene. Police rounded up the protesting CITU members near the Pallavan House-Anna Salai junction and forced them to board the waiting police vans.