Members of the Tamil Nadu Village Administrative Officers’ Association held demonstrations in front of various taluk offices in Nilgiris district on Monday in protest against a panchayat president using abusive language against a woman officer.
The incident occurred when Renuka Devi, VAO, tried to seize an earth mover being deployed without permission at Kadanad on February 5. Madras High Court has banned the use of earthmovers without permission from revenue department.
Kadanad panchayat president R. Sivakumar spoke to her over phone using abusive language, she said in a complaint to the police. He, along with his associate Kannan tried to prevent her from discharging her official duty too, the complaint said.
Since no action had been taken against them so far, the association organised demonstrations.
The association’s taluk secretary, K. Bellan, said that if action was not taken against the accused, the agitation would be intensified.
Mr. Sivakumar, accompanied by some of the residents of Kadanad and nearby places met The Nilgiris District Collector, P. Sankar, here on Monday and claimed that the earth mover which was on its way to Hallatty was used to clear a public road of waste materials. He said that the earth mover was used for a common cause. Mr. Sankar said that the District Revenue Officer Bhaskara Pandiyan would look into the matter.
