THOOTHUKUDI: An elderly woman hailing from the Arunthathiyar community sought action against Sawyerpuram town panchayat executive officer and two others, alleging that they demolished her house, located on a patta land, without prior notice.
In a complaint to Collector K Elambahavath during the weekly grievance redressal meeting on Monday, the petitioner, M Parvathi (70) of Naduvakurichi, alleged that panchayat supervisors Nithiyakalyan and Raja, Contractor Sudharsan and Executive Officer Babu jointly demolished her house on September 19, claiming it was on government land. The officials razed the mud-tiled house on 5 cents of land and the compound wall without prior notice or official intimation. I hold a valid patta for the land, she said.
“The officials demolished my house worth Rs 2 lakh only because I hail from a deprived caste and nobody would question them," she alleged.
Activist SM Gandhi, who accompanied Parvathi, said the officials had violated the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, which prevents officers from forcibly taking the land of Scheduled Caste persons.
It may be noted that previously, Babu was accused of abetting the suicide of a conservancy worker, Sudalaimadan of Arunthathiyar community, when he was the executive officer at Udangudi town panchayat in March 2022, and an FIR under various sections of the IPC and SC/ST Act was registered against him at Kulasekarapattinam police station.
Parvathi said the patta was given by the state government in 1967 to her father Masanamuthu, and had been duly transferred to his legal heirs after his demise. “There was a valid power connection and I also paid property tax and water tax until recent years,” she said.
Parvathi’s relative Saravanan said the state had constructed a community hall illegally on the road next to her house. "Despite explaining it many times, the EO refused to accept and called our land patta invalid," he claimed.
Activist V Gunaselan said Babu was not suspended over Sudalaimadan’s suicide due to his political clout and nexus with higher officials. He absconded and was later transferred to Sawyerpuram town panchayat after some weeks. Had the government taken necessary action against him, he would not have dared to discriminate against marginalised communities, Gunaselan said.
It may be noted that the EO Babu was also present in the grievance hall.The DRO S Seenivasan who received the petition, urged the Sawyerpuram EO to take action. However, the petitioners opposed it, as Babu was the accused. Hence, DRO asked the police official to probe the complaint and register FIR for necessary actions.