24 booked after altercation breaks out between two groups in Auroville

The Auroville police have registered a case against 24 persons following a clash between members of two groups at the Auroville Centre for Urban Research (ACUR) on Wednesday (May 13, 2026).The police said a section of residents led by Arun Ambathy were participating in a meeting when members of the Auroville Foundation requested that the premises be vacated for a scheduled meeting. An altercation ensued between the two groups.Based on a complaint lodged by the Auroville Foundation, the police arrested Arun Ambathy. The police also registered a counter-complaint against members of the Foundation and arrested Antim Singhi.Meanwhile, the Auroville Foundation has expressed serious concern regarding “the incident that occurred on Wednesday during a meeting involving office-bearers.”In a statement, the Foundation said the meeting room had reportedly been unlawfully occupied by certain individuals, including unauthorised persons with no official role in the proceedings. When officials requested that the premises be vacated for the scheduled meeting, the situation escalated into verbal abuse, intimidation, obstruction of official functioning, and physical violence.The incident is not isolated, but forms part of a repeated pattern of obstruction, intimidation, unlawful interference with public work, and aggressive conduct directed against institutional functioning within Auroville, the statement said. Published - May 15, 2026 12:21 pm IST