MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Tenkasi sub-collector to file report on the inquiry conducted by her into an incident in which a sub-inspector of police shot a farmer in the legs at close range during a toddy tapping probe at Alangulam in Tenkasi.
Justice B Pugalendhi gave the direction on a petition filed by Perumal Sait, father of the injured farmer Manikandan, seeking CBI probe into the incident and compensation.
The judge orally questioned what was the necessity to open fire. After it was informed that sub-collector Vaishnavi Paul was conducting an inquiry, he directed the officer to appear through video conference and passed over the case.
When the case was taken up again, the sub-collector informed the court about the status of her inquiry. Hearing the same, the judge adjourned the case to June first week.
In his petition, Perumal stated that on April 7, 2026, around 12.45 pm, a team of policemen led by Esakkiraja came to their house and demanded his son to climb their palmyra tree to show if the pots contained ‘pathaneer’ (sap) or toddy.
Perumal alleged that Esakkiraja verbally abused them using caste name in front of his grandchildren and when Manikandan confronted him, opened fire and shot four times, of which two bullets hit Manikandan in the legs. Claiming that the investigation by local police would not be impartial, he sought CBI probe.