Five booked for harassing dalit municipal staff in Tindivanam

VILLUPURAM: Five people, including two councillors, were on Wednesday booked on charges of forcing a junior assistant, who is a dalit, at Tindivanam municipality to fall at the feet of a woman councillor for his alleged failure to fetch a file on time.The councillors who were booked were R Ramya and Ravichandran, who’s also the husband of Tindivanam municipality chairperson R Nirmala. Police said the other accused was Ramya’s husband Raja alias Maroor Raja, Nirmala’s personal assistant Kamaraj, and Selvam, husband of a councillor. Police booked them after the employee, identified as S Muniappan, 35, of Roshanai in Villupuram district, submitted a petition to Villupuram superintendent of police P Saravanan, requesting him to initiate action against the councillor and others for harassing him.Muniappan said he was subjected to the humiliation for not tracing on time a file, which Ramya had sought, relating to a contract given in 2021. Another councillor as well as municipal officials were present in the chamber when the incident happened, he said. Muniappan urged the SP to initiate stringent action against the councillor and others for the harassment meted out to him.

The SP said police registered a case under sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and commenced investigations.

Meanwhile, Ramya lodged a counter complaint against Muniappan, accusing him of touching her in an inappropriate manner. “Muniappan grabbed my hand in an inappropriate manner and tried to touch me with ill intent using his right hand, while he tried to hold my chair with his left hand. He continued these improper actions despite my efforts to push him away. There were several men present, which made me feel humiliated and uncomfortable.

I immediately moved my chair and sat elsewhere,” Ramya said in the complaint.She said Muniappan’s actions were intentional and improper. Meanwhile, leaders of opposition parties have slammed the DMK govt for failing to uphold the rights of marginalised sections.