Man held for ‘poisoning’ panchayat water tank

A villager, near Gingee, who was unhappy over contaminated water supply to his house was arrested on Tuesday after he claimed to have mixed purgative in the panchayat water tank.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

VILLUPURAM: A villager, near Gingee, who was unhappy over contaminated water supply to his house was arrested on Tuesday after he claimed to have mixed purgative in the panchayat water tank. According to a revenue department source, S Balamurugan (34) said to villagers on Monday night that he mixed purgative in the overhead water tank. 

Initially, the villagers thought it was a lie as he was in an inebriated condition. However, soon fear kicked in. Villagers then informed administrative officer T Tamilvanan, who filed a complaint with Gingee police. A case was filed on Tuesday and Balamurugan was arrested. Meanwhile, panchayat and health department officials rushed to the village and drained the water tank after collecting samples for testing.

“Balamurugan claimed that water supplied to his house was unclean. So, he contacted panchayat officials and was informed that due to old pipes at his house, water was becoming contaminated. This angered him and in a fit of rage, told villagers that he mixed purgative in the tank. There was no confirmation about it yet and as a precaution, water was drained and he was arrested for creating panic,” said police.

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