VILLUPURAM: An elected member of the panchayat, and a tribal woman, E Sangeetha (40) has been running pillar to post to make the district administration hear her plea but her woes fall in deaf ears.
Sangeetha, the panchayat president of Anangur village in Gingee taluk in Villupuram district, has now been booked under multiple sections of the BNS Act following her protest at the District Collectorate on Wednesday.
She was demanding action against alleged caste-based discrimination and harassment by her deputy, Chitra Gunasekaran, and husband, Gunasekaran, a local DMK branch secretary.
She had filed a formal complaint to the district collector, twice, in July and August, alleging caste discrimination by deputy president and her husband but no action against the couple has been taken so far.
Sangeetha’s complaint alleges that Chitra and her husband have consistently obstructed her official duties since she took office, three years ago. She is the first irular woman panchayat president in her village, after it was declared a reserved constituency for women.
“Chitra, my subordinate, along with her husband, has refused to provide me with the digital key (a digital password) needed to approve salaries and allocate funds for basic amenities like laying water pipes and roads. They’ve also used my tribal identity to abuse and demean me in public meetings,” said Sangeetha.
She further claimed that Chitra had openly stated, “You, an Irular woman, do not deserve to sit in the Panchayat President’s chair,” and threatened physical harm if she intervened in administrative matters.
Despite multiple complaints to the District Collector and other local authorities, Sangeetha stated that no concrete action has been taken so far. She also alleged that she received threats to her life, pushing her to a point of severe mental distress.
Responding to her complaint in August, District Collector C Palani had ordered an inquiry and directed the deputy president to provide Sangeetha access to the digital key. However, the collector has not directly contacted the victim nor inspected the situation until now.
A month after this, Sangeetha has again claimed verbal and habitual caste abuse by the duo, who continue to call her using her caste name and asking her to leave from inspection sites of MGNREGA works.
After her protest, the police registered a case against Sangeetha under Sections 223, 292, and 126 (2) of the BNS Act, following a recent order issued by DC that stated agitations held without proper permissions from police outside Collectorate campuses will be arrested.
“We are looking into the issue and will verify the facts,” said Superintendent of Police Deepak Siwach.