TN to bring communal clashes under Goondas Act

The Tamil Nadu government will soon amend the Goondas Act, used against habitual offenders, to detain those inciting communal and caste clashes under the deterrent law.

Those arrested under the Act, generally used against illicit brewers, land grabbers and history sheeters, could not come out on bail till a board, constituted for granting bail, cleared the cases.
 
Chief Minister M Karunanidhi told the state assembly on Monday that the amendment would be introduced in the current assembly session, coming to an end on May 14.
  
He said some persons used the incidents of desecration of statues of leaders like Periyar E V Ramasamy, Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thever and Dr B R Ambedkar to incite communal and caste clashes.
 
The proposed amendment would empower the authorities to arrest such persons under the Goondas Act, Karunanidhi said.
 
Refuting an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam allegation that the security to their leader Jayalalithaa had been reduced, Karunanidhi said she was in the Z Plus catagory and security to her was being provided as per the norms prescribed by the Centre.

She had already gone to court on the issue and the government would provide whatever security the court ordered, the CM said.
  
He said a narco analysis lab would be set up in Chennai this year. Such facilities are currently available only in Bangalore, Mumbai and Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat), Karunanidhi said.