Normal life came to a standstill in the union territory of Pondicherry following a bandh called by the National Democratic Alliance to condemn the arrest of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi at Chennai early on Saturday. All shops and other business establishments remained closed except two-wheelers, other vehicles were off the road. All educational institutions had declared a holiday on Saturday.
As many as 670 DMK volunteers were taken into custody in Pondicherry and Karaikal, police sources said. State DMK convener and former chief minister R V Janakiraman along with Rajya Sabha member C P Thirunavukkarasu and legislators S P Sivakumar, Kennedy and Siva were arrested when they took out a procession to stage a rail-roko agitation. In Karaikal, V M C Sivakumar and A M H Nazeem, both legislators, were arrested when they put up road blockades.

Several volunteers of the Puducherry Makkal Congress and BJP, including Ezhumalai MLA and BJP state president A M Krishnamurthy, MLA, were also arrested. Heavy police pickets were posted in different parts of Pondicherry to prevent any untoward incidents.
Bureau Report