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Chennai, Nov 18 (IANS) CPM state secretary P Shanmugam on Tuesday urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to intervene in the case of continuous harassment and harassment of a village administrative officer (VAO) who took action against illegal sand mining in Pudukkottai district.
In a detailed memorandum to the Chief Minister, Shanmugam said Jayarvivarma, currently serving as VAO of Kovilur and formerly attached to Vandarakkottai revenue village, was continuously targeted since 2015 for implementing official instructions to curb sand smuggling.
Acting on the orders of the Tehsildar, they had seized sand and a JCB machine stolen from a smuggling network in Vallathirakkottai – an action that led to repeated reprisals.
Despite producing a written order authorizing the seizure, Jayarvivarma was arrested by the police and a case was registered against him. In the last few years he was jailed twice and arrested thrice.
The tehsildar later appeared at the station to confirm that the VAO had acted under instructions, and the court later acquitted him.
According to the CPM, police personnel also attempted to detain him under the Goondas Act, allegedly in retaliation for his actions.
The plan was abandoned by the party’s district leadership only after the intervention of the District Collector.
Subsequently, the VAO was suspended and refused to pay subsistence allowance except for eight months from 2022 onwards, plunging it into financial crisis.
Shanmugam said the matter escalated further in February 2023, when police officials allegedly detained the VAO illegally, planted ganja packets on him and registered cases.
He said the inspector who arrested him acted as both the complainant and the investigating officer, raising serious concerns about due process.
The case is now before the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court. On November 12 this year, the Vallathirakkottai police reportedly booked him under section 110 of the CrPC and added his name to the rowdy list, which the CPM termed as yet another attempt to criminalize a government official who was performing his duties.
Stating that an honest Scheduled Caste officer was pushed into severe mental agony for opposing the influential sand mafia, Shanmugam urged the Chief Minister to order withdrawal of all “fabricated” cases, take action against police personnel who misused their authority, reinstate the VAOs, release all pending subsistence allowances and direct a CBCID investigation into the entire series of incidents.
–IANS
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