Six held on charges of selling toddy

Coimbatore: Six people were on Wednesday arrested at Muthugoundanpudur in Sulur on charges of selling toddy, which was banned in the state. Police also seized from them 38 litres of toddy.
Police said they got a tip off about a group of people selling toddy under the aegis of Toddy Protection Movement. Based on the information, sleuths attached to the prohibition wing raided coconut farms at Muthugoundanpudur in Sulur.
The team found that six men -- A N Shanmugam, D Shanmugasundaram and A K Mani, his brother A K Shanmugam of Arugampalayam village, M Logesh and V Shanmugasundaram from Muthugoundanpudur -- had tapped toddy from coconut trees and were selling them to the villagers. They were arrested and 38 litres of toddy was seized from them.
All the six were farmers and have been part of prolonged struggle to legalise toddy tapping as a means of livelihood for farmers and farm workers.