MADURAI:
Villagers
from a panchayat in
Madurai district
submitted a petition to the
district collector
on Tuesday alleging that their panchayat president had been abducted by the vice-president. However, it later transpired that he had gone to his daughter’s house unable to withstand pressure from vested interests over the election of the panchayat secretary.
P Ganeshan, 63, a dalit, was elected panchayat president of Nattamangalam in
Chellampatti union
on December 30 last year. The village committee members, including ward members S Rajaguru, P Muthumari, A
Pandi, Ammavasi, among others submitted a petition to collector Dr T G Vinay, alleging that they suspected their president had been abducted by panchayat vice-president T R C Pradeep.
Election to the post of panchayat secretary, which has been lying vacant, was to be held on October 22. The villagers alleged that the vice-president had been insisting that the president approve the name of his 18-year-old sister T Sivaparani for the post. As the panchayat president was missing, they suspected that Pradeep had abducted him.
However, on Tuesday evening, P Ganeshan came to the district collectorate and submitted a petition to the collector saying he was not abducted. In his petition, he stated that
K Sivaprakash
from Ayyampatti in his village had been harassing him demanding that his wife P Jayalakshmi be given the secretary post. Unable to stand the harassment, he had come to his daughter’s house in Anupanadi in Madurai.
Later, the officers asked him to come to the Chellampatti union office where Ganeshan said he had been given the assurance that an eligible candidate would be selected for the post. When contacted, district collector Dr T G Vinay said he had asked the assistant director panchayats to inquire into the allegations and that action would be taken based on the report.
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