A 42-year-old man has been detained by the police department in Erode on Monday after he reportedly attempted to wrap a saffron cloth on the Periyar statue situated in the city and the incident has come days after the similar attempt of dishonoring the statue of the Dravidian Stalwart in Coimbatore.

The incident in Erode has happened around 12.15 pm on Monday and the visuals emerged from the spot shown that the man was immediately stopped by the Erode Town police personnel stationed near the statue and the personnel had later taken him to the station. According to the reports, the 42-year-old man has been identified as Prakash, who is the functionary of Tamizhaga Hindu Makkal Katchi.  

Upon being stopped by the police near the steel barrier installed around the statue, Prakash shouted 'Vetrivel, Veeravel' - a slogan of the devotees of Lord Muruga. While the police personnel attempting to remove him from the statue, Prakash was seen waving a piece of saffron-colored cloth. He was then taken to the police station.

The reports stated that the FIR has been filed against Prakash under sections 153 - wantonly provocating with the motive of causing a riot, 153A - promoting enmity between different groups, and 504- insult with intent to provoke or breach of the peace of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The officials said that they had stationed police personnel near the Periyar statue in the Panneerselvam Park following the incident that happened in Coimbatore and the controversy stirred by the Karuppar Kootam Youtube channel. Panneerselvam park is one of the busiest and crowded areas in the city.

 On Friday, the miscreants had vandalized the Periyar statue in Sundarapuram, Coimbatore. The miscreants had poured saffron paint on the statue which erupted tensions from the followers of the stalwart and the leaders of the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The Dravidar Kazhagam has moved the complaint against the incident. 

On Saturday, Congress leader and former party's president Rahul Gandhi had condemned the act and stated that "No amount of hate can ever deface a giant". The Dravidian leaders had demanded the Coimbatore police to arrest the responsible during which a 21-year-old Arun Krishnan, who belongs to the Bharat Sena Outfit, had surrendered to the police. 

He claimed that the Karuppar Kootam's controversial video on Hindu Devotional Song 'Kandha Sashti Kavacham' has provoked him to do the act and the pro-Hindu leaders and groups have claimed that the video against the Hindu song has insulted and disrespected their religious sentiments. 

Following Coimbatore, the member of the pro-Hindu outfit has now attempted to wrap a saffron cloth on Periyar in the Dravidian Stalwart's hometown Erode.