In the early morning hours of Saturday, February 12, 1994, Liberation Panthers activists gatecrashed the Madurai Junction railway station. Waving colorful movement flags and hand-painted placards bearing political demands, they congregated on the tracks of the Chennai-bound Vaigai Express. As police constables struggled to detain this initial group of activists, dragging them off the tracks one by one and back atop the platform, a second squad of DPI cadre stormed the station and picketed the tracks of the Kanyakumari Express, delaying its departure by more than an hour. Soon thereafter, the railway junction descended into chaos when two more batches of activists swarmed the station, attempting to force their way onto the premises to disrupt the Pandian Express and Tirupathi Express. As additional waves of Dalit activists converged on the station, police constables summoned reinforcements, frantically locked the entrance gates, and improvised barricades to stall the advancing crowd, which the Indian Express estimated at an additional 200 persons.

DPI activists stood their ground and refused to withdraw from the station entrance, sparking a scuffle with the police. Amidst the ruckus, movement firebrand Arumugam “Theepori” Murugan seized a microphone and began chanting DPI slogans over the loudspeaker, exhorting activists to defy authorities: “Refuse to submit! Hit back!” Constables descended on the demonstrators, aggressively dispersing them with lathis (wooden batons). In retreat, Dalit activists defaced signboards as they were gradually beaten back from the station entrance, spurring nearby business owners to hastily shutter their storefronts as the mêlée spilled into the bustling West Velli Street, a major transit hub at the heart of Madurai's commercial center.