Panchayat members accused of threatening woman, relative

Pudukkottai: Two elected representatives of Mandaiyur village panchayat in Pudhukottai district have been accused of attempted extortion and criminal intimidation of a 29-year-old widow and her relative. Police arrested one of the panchayat members, whereas another one was on the run. However, rumour was rife that the panchayat members allegedly attempted to rape the woman.But police denied this allegation and clarified that the incident was given a different twist by rival councillors.
It is said the woman, a resident of a village near Keeranur in Pudukkottai district, and her 32-year-old brother-in-law were intimidated by two panchayat members -- Dhanapal, 31, and Achu, alias Loganathan, 33 at Arasikadu. The alleged incident happened on Friday evening, when the widow and her brother-in-law were on their way to his house near Ramji Nagar in Trichy district on a bike. Around evening, the duo had stopped their vehicle at a desolate place near Pidampatti, said Mandaiyur police inspector G Marimuthu.
Dhanapal and Loganathan, who were allegedly drunk, picked up a quarrel with the duo and one of them tried to forcibly take the bike. They even threatened the woman and her relative, added Marimuthu. Meanwhile, the man escaped from the spot and sought help from the villagers. People who gathered at the spot rescued them, but the panchayat members fled from the scene. After a complaint was filed, Mandaiyur police booked them under section 387 and 502 (ii) of IPC. Though, police arrested Dhanpal, Loganathan gave a slip to them.
It is also said one of the panchayat members attempted to rape the widow and the man was roughed up by them. Commenting on that inspector Marimuthu said there was a communal dispute between Dhanpal and a rival group. So, they tried to defame Dhanapal's image by distorting the facts. But their investigation revealed that they did not attempt to rape the woman.