A viral video of the attack, showed a man, purportedly the MP, showering abuses on Godfrey Noble, the assault victim.
The MP was removed from the post of committee secretary of the diocese which fueled the enmity between the Bishop and him (Creative Commons)
The DMK has issued a show-cause notice to its MP S Gnanathiraviam a day after he and 20 others were booked for allegedly assaulting a self-styled bishop of the Jesus Saves Ministry.
The Palayamkottai police registered a case against Gnanathiraviam and 20 others on Monday, 26 June, for assaulting Godfrey Noble, at the CSI diocese office on North High Ground Road in the city of Tirunelveli.
Noble, a supporter of Bishop ARGST Barnabas of the CSI’s Tirunelveli diocese, had gone to the office to attend a meeting.
According to a police complaint, Gnanathiraviam’s supporters and lay secretary Jayasingh waylaid Noble and assaulted him on Monday.
The MP and others were booked under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 294 (b) (singing, reciting, or uttering any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506(1) (punishment for criminal intimidation), and 109 (punishment of abetment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The police said Jayasingh had a grudge against Barnabas.
The lawmaker also nursed a grudge against the prelate for dropping him from the post of the correspondent of a school under the diocese.
He was also ousted as the secretary of the diocese committee.
A viral video of the attack showed a man, purportedly the MP, showering abuses on Noble. The police registered an FIR against Gnanathiraviam and others based on Noble’s complaint.
The DMK on Tuesday, 27 June, issued a show-cause notice to Gnanathiraviam seeking an explanation for bringing disrepute to the party.
The show-cause notice issued by DMK general secretary Duraimurugan. (Supplied)
“Gnanathiraviam has to appear before the party’s high command within seven days of the receipt of the notice and give his explanation or send it through the post. Action will be taken against him if he fails to do so,” the party’s general secretary Duraimurugan said in a statement.
A diocese council member said the MP and Barnabas were close to each other earlier, but they fell apart after the latter was elected as the bishop in 2020.
They have since been at loggerheads over several issues, including the appointments of council and administration members.
“A few cases alleging mismanagement of the diocese are pending before the court. The MP was recently removed from the diocese post. It is the root cause for all problems,” the council member told South First on the condition of anonymity.
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