VELLORE: Village Assistant (VA) S Rajendran was only doing his duty when on Saturday he tried to stop a gang of smugglers from illegally mining sand from the river Kottaru. He was attacked by the smugglers who tried to bury him alive in a pit on the riverbed.
Thirupathy, a member of the gang and a resident of Annasagaram in Mallapalli, had tried to kill the VA earlier too.
On Saturday, Thirupathy and his associates threw Rajendran into the pit that was dug up to mine sand and started to cover him with sand. “They tried to bury me alive. I raised an alarm. A small girl, who saw the incident, informed the villagers. On seeing a group of villagers rushing to the spot, Thirupathy and his gang members fled in a tractor,” said Rajendran, who was still in a state of shock.
The Revenue Inspector, Village Administrative Officer and the villagers took Rajendran to the Government Hospital at Tirupattur where he is undergoing treatment.
The mafia members left behind two of their motorcycles that were confiscated by police. Tirupattur Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) G Dharmarajan said they have registered a case against Thirupathy and five others under Sections 147, 148, 294 (b), 506 (II), 353 and 307 of the IPC and 3 (1) (A) of SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.
“We have launched a manhunt for the gang, who are absconding,” said the ASP, who is the investigation officer for the case.
“After I conduct an enquiry into the incident and similar incidents involving the same gang in the past, I will send a detailed report to the District Collector,” said Shilpa Prabhakar Sub-collector of Tirupatture.
“After I conduct an enquiry into the incident and similar incidents involving the same gang in the past, I will send a detailed report to the District Collector,” said Shilpa Prabhakar Sub-collector of Tirupattur.f.