Sleeping inside her official chamber, which was mysteriously locked from outside, put the Erode Mayor Malliga Paramasivam in an embarrassing position on Friday.
High drama was witnessed when late in the afternoon the Mayor emerged from her locked room, although for nearly four hours her staff had dissuaded a group of petitioners and some journalists from waiting for her saying she was not inside.
A visibly embarrassed Malliga cried hoarse accusing her ministerial staff of locking her up inside the office room when she had gone off to sleep due to “fatigue”.
Eyewitnesses said, the Mayor had come to her first floor office in the Erode Corporation premises around 11 a.m. and was closeted with a group of around 10 persons including some women.
After some time, it was noticed that the main entrance to her room as well as the door of her ante room were locked from outside.
Around the same time, a group of around 50 residents of Periyasadayampalayam who had come to petition the Mayor regarding a water problem in their locality were told by her staff that she was not in office. The women, however, refused to leave prompting the police to arrive at the scene and disperse them after talks.
Hearing about the presence of police a few journalists landed at the Erode Corporation. Strangely, the Corporation Zone III chairman R Manoharan asked the media persons to leave the place.
Around 3.45 p.m., Malliga called one of her ministerial staff saying she was unable to open the door of her chamber from inside. Immediately, the staff Mani scurried around and opened the lock.
A visibly embarrassed Malliga told journalists that she was fatigued due to fever. Therefore, after attending a rally in the morning, she had popped some pills and gone off to sleep after putting her mobile phone on silent mode.
“Only when I woke up I realised it was late and called my assistant Mani. He told me that he had locked the room presuming I had left office,” she said.
Incidentally, Malliga also claimed that a few days ago someone had pelted stones on her car after she had alighted at her house.