SC ex-panchayat chief hacked in 2011 seeks protection again

Krishnaveni told TNIE that she was reliably informed that a friend of one of the convicts was planning to kill her and she had approached the Superintendent of Police
Krishnaveni alleged she is facing threats from one of the convicts
Krishnaveni alleged she is facing threats from one of the convicts (Photo| Express)
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TIRUNELVELI: Thirteen-and-a-half years after P Krishnaveni was brutally hacked by men belonging to dominant communities, the Dalit ex-panchayat president is once again fearing for her safety.

In a petition given to Tirunelveli Collector Dr K P Karthikeyan on Monday, she sought police protection citing threats to her life from associates of the men convicted last October for attacking her.

Krishnaveni told TNIE that she was reliably informed that a friend of one of the convicts was planning to kill her and she had approached Superintendent of Police N Silambarasan on January 22.

“However, police has not provided me with protection,” she said.

Recalling the brutal attack in June 2011, she said it had come when she, as president of Thalaiyoothu panchayat, had taken steps to construct a public toilet on poramboke land.

“Opposing the initiative, men from the dominant communities brutally attacked me with sickles while I was returning home from the panchayat office in an autorickshaw. I sustained 24 deep wounds and underwent multiple surgeries at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital and Stanley Medical College Hospital,” she recalled. In October 2024, six men were convicted and sentenced to double life terms.

Krishnaveni alleged that she is now facing threats from a friend of one of the convicts and from two others who secured bail from the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.

Krishnaveni’s petition being assessed: SP

K Sakthivel (24), a friend of Jacob — one of the convicts — recently returned from Chennai. When his father Kasi asked him to go back, Sakthivel attacked him and revealed he had come to the village to eliminate me with the help of another youth.

Kasi informed Thalaiyoothu police and alerted me. However, police have treated it as a father-son dispute and refused to provide me protection,” she said.

She pointed out that in 2011, she had petitioned the authorities 27 times seeking police protection but in vain. “Had I been given protection, I wouldn’t have been assaulted. Now again, my petition is being ignored. I demand armed personnel be assigned for my security,” Krishnaveni said.

When TNIE contacted him for a response, Silambarasan said he has instructed the police personnel on patrol duty to frequently check Krishnaveni’s house. “We are assessing Krishnaveni’s petition,” he said.

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