“I was almost killed in Buldozer mishap at Setapak hindu temple”. P. Uthayakumar’s 25 Nov Hindraf Rally book in daily segments No. 44 (9/2/11).

I was almost killed in Buldozer mishap at Setapak hindu temple

Back to the Setapak Hindu temple the two DBKL bulldozers crank started their engines and we knew that the final hour has come. The bulldozers’ drivers rammed their engines to scare away the said Hindu temple devotees who were lying on the ground in the way of the bulldozers. The devotees were screaming for the DBKL bulldozers to stop. Others were chanting. There was pandemonium. Manickavasagam went up to one of the bulldozers to stop the driver from moving forward, but he was immediately pulled down, arrested, handcuffed and immediately thrown into a waiting DBKL van. The other bulldozer was about to move and I climbed up to the driver’s cabin to ask the driver for DBKL’s Court Order to demolish this temple. The driver on seeing me suddenly swerved and turned his bulldozer cabin. I was flung in the air but kept hold tightly to the body of the bulldozer. I was almost crushed against the body of the said bulldozer. I was swung around and my thighs hit the body of the bulldozer. In the nick of time, a few policemen and DBKL enforcement personnel pulled me away from my clutching and hanging on to the bulldozer and away from danger. They pulled me to the ground. Two of them grabbed my hand while another two grabbed my legs and dumped me into the waiting DBKL van where Manickavasagam had earlier been placed into.

Then temple devotees Rishi Shankar and Devan were also arrested and also put into the van together with me and Manickavasagam.

The police and DBKL personnel attacked Vellu Patchaiappan(Vellu) who is the elder brother of Siva. A policeman hit Vellu on the head with his handcuffs and Vellu was bleeding profusely from the head. Blood spilled all over his face. Vellu’s sister was crying at this sight and was seen hugging on to her brother.

Vellu’s wife and child crying seeing Vellu’s head bleeding after hit with police handcuffs.

Myself dragged away by police before demolishing temple

The UMNO controlled Malaysian authorities had no mercy. They were heartless. Vellu was also handcuffed from the back and thrown into the DBKL van with the four of us. The DBKL van was hot and stuffy as it was right under the blazing mid afternoon sun. All five of us were sweating profusely.

My lawyer friend N. Surendran arrived shortly thereafter and on seeing the five of us told the police off and to release us immediately as we had committed no wrong but were merely defending our legal and constitutional rights. Otherwise N. Surendran ordered us to be taken to the police station to be released or bailed out as the officer on the site had told Surendran that he had no instructions to release us.