A section of members of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) were arrested after they burnt an effigy of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Thiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, on Monday.

The VCK cadre has taken this step to condemn the death sentence handed out to five Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Colombo High Court recently.

Police sources said a group of 31 VCK functionaries headed by the party’s urban district secretary Arasu set afire an effigy of Mr. Rajapaksa near the central bus stand when they were arrested. They were later released.

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi is a Dravidian political party in Tamil Nadu, led by Thol. Thirumavalavan, a lawyer from Chennai. He is a Dalit politician. The party's main principle is uplift of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Other Backward Classes, and minorities such as the Christians and Muslims of Tamil Nadu. In the 2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Elections, the party lost in all 10 seats it contested. It was an all of Karunanidhi's DMK.