Two village assistants engaged in midnight patrolling to check sand smuggling near Arcot were killed in road accident on Saturday.
Kanniyappan (32), village assistant of Chenganavaram, S. Rajaraman (46) of Thonimedu, and Ramesh (35) of Thattachery all in Arcot taluk, were riding a bike past midnight to track and check sand smugglers near Veppur village on Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway. A light commercial vehicle carrying custard apples from Bengaluru to Chennai hit them and Rajaram and Kanniyappan died instantly. Ramesh is undergoing treatment in CMC Hospital. The goods carrier overturned after the accident and the driver fled the spot.
Meanwhile, employees, led by Tamil Nadu Revenue Village Assistants Association, Tamil Nadu Revenue Officers’ Association (TNROA), and Tamil Nadu Government Employees’ Association staged a protest in Arcot taluk office condemning the conditions in which the victims were forced to work. TNROA district secretary A. Rajasekaran told The Hindu that the village assistants were forced to work beyond a limit and beyond their boundaries. “Both the dead village assistants belonged to Mambakkam firka in Arcot taluk. Tahsildar directed them to do patrolling in Veppur village that falls under Mel Visharam firka of Wallaja taluk. They were crossing the in an unfamiliar terrain based on the directions given over mobile. We raised these issues and demanded action against Arcot tahsildar and the Revenue Inspector. Collector S.A. Raman visited protesting employees and promised to look into their demands,” he added.
Employees pooled money and handed over Rs.1 lakh each to the bereaved families and Rs. 50,000 to the family of the injured employee.
