Salem doctor arrested for defacing statue of former CM Karunanidhi

Written by Medical Dialogues Team Published On 2025-07-17T14:30:05+05:30 | Updated On 17 July 2025 2:37 PM IST

Salem: A 77-year-old ENT doctor from Salem was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly defacing a 16-foot-tall bronze statue of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi by pouring black paint on it at Anna Park.

According to the Hastampatti police, the doctor allegedly poured black paint on the statue at Anna Park while grappling with mental distress linked to ongoing family problems. The act of vandalism came to light after CCTV footage from the area showed the senior doctor approaching the statue with a container of black paint.

The doctor, a long-practicing ENT specialist who runs Arunagiri ENT Nursing Home in the Four Roads area of the city, reportedly confessed to the act when confronted by the authorities.

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Speaking to TOI, Assistant Commissioner K. M. Aswini said, "He admitted to defacing the statue when we approached him for questioning." She confirmed that the doctor was suffering from prolonged mental distress linked to ongoing family issues.

The police booked the doctor under sections 196 (Promoting enmity between different groups and disturbing public tranquillity) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the BNS and sections of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Destruction and Loss) Act, 1982, reports TOI.

He has since been remanded to judicial custody. While the act itself is being handled as a criminal offence, the circumstances surrounding it have drawn attention to the importance of recognising and addressing mental health issues.

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Medical Dialogues had previously reported that a 36-year-old Ayurvedic doctor was arrested after allegedly creating chaos aboard an Air India flight from Bengaluru to Surat, prompting a major security scare that delayed the flight by nearly two hours.

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Medical Dialogues Team