VILLUPURAM:The vice-president and secretary of Pullur village panchayat near Ulundurpet were booked under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act on Saturday for allegedly attacking the panchayat president on October 26.
Sources said Harikrishnan (50), the panchayat president is a Dalit while Sumathi (50) and Saravanan (45), two caste Hindus, are vice-president and panchayat secretary, respectively.
Six months ago, the Ulundurpet Tahsildhar visited the village and asked the panchayat officials to remove 12 houses built on poramboke land.
As per the direction, officials, including Harikrishnan, Sumathi and Saravanan, gathered near the land on October 26 to remove the encroachments. A dispute broke out after Harikrishnan and Sumathi refused to sign a resolution for the removal. The encroachers are said to be supporters of both.
Following heated arguments, Harikrishnan started attacking Sumathi and Saravanan. The duo retaliated.
Soon, villagers supporting both joined the scuffle and hurled stones at each other.
Based on a complaint from Sumathi and Saravanan, the Ulundurpet police registered an attempt to murder case against Harikrishnan.
Based on the counter-complaint by Harikrishnan, police booked Sumathi and Saravanan.