TENKASI: A 63-year-old farmer tried to end his life near the Sivagiri police station on Thursday night, accusing a police inspector of abusing and slapping him during an inquiry into a land dispute. He was admitted to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital. However, the police has denied the allegations.
V Anthonyraj, in a petition to the SP on May 16, alleged that Sivagiri police summoned him to the station multiple times and inspector Muralidharan slapped him during an inquiry on May 15.
According to the petition, a woman from his neighbourhood, P Pasupathi, had filed a complaint against him over a land dispute. Anthonyraj claimed that during the inquiry, which began around 11 am, the inspector used abusive language and slapped him twice when he asked the officer to respect his age.
“He snatched my phone before making me and my four-year-old grandson wait at the station. At 4pm, the police collected my address and sent me home after threatening to file a false case,” he said in his petition.
Anthonyraj’s son, A Esakkidurai, alleged his father took the extreme step due to continuous threats from the inspector after complaints were sent to the DGP, collector and State Human Rights Commission over the May 15 incident. However, in a statement issued on Friday, police denied the allegations and said inquiries were conducted with Anthonyraj on May 1 and May 15 regarding the land dispute.
The statement did not mention the CCTV footage. However, a police officer told TNIE that the available footage had been secured. “The writer room does not have a CCTV. Anthonyraj and the inspector were inside the room for about 15 to 20 seconds. Footage from outside captured an argument,” the officer said.
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