The secretary of Muhamma panchayat here was arrested on Friday on charges of stealing and destroying official documents.
According to the police, L. Ajith Kumar was arrested for stealing vouchers and minute books and for burning the minute books in an attempt to put a colleague in trouble. The documents were reported missing on May 15 and a couple of days later, the police found some of the documents in an abandoned sack about a kilometre from the panchayat office. Further investigation led to the arrest of Mr. Ajith Kumar, the police said.
The accused is said to have stolen vouchers and minute books of the 2009-2011 period after an argument with a female colleague. The annual audit of the panchayat was yet to be done and with the files missing, the colleague, an accountant in the office, would be in trouble, the police said.
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The accused will be produced on court on Saturday.