The police have also booked a case against the vice president of the panchayat under the SC / ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Law
A secretary of the panchayat in the Cuddalore district was suspended after it emerged that Rajeshwari Saravana Kumar, president of Therku Thittai Panchayat, belonging to the Programmed Caste, was forced to sit on the floor during panchayat meetings.
The police have also registered a case against the vice president of the panchayat, Mohan Raj, a caste Hindu, under Section 3 (1) (r) of the SC / ST (Atrocity Prevention) Act.
Ms. Kumar, whose panchayat belongs to the Mel Bhuvanagiri bloc, spoke about the harassment and discrimination she faced from caste Hindus, including Mr. Raj, after a photo of her sitting on the ground while other members were sitting on chairs at a panchayat gathering. went viral. The meeting was held in July.
Collector Chandra Sekhar Sakhamuri said The Hindu on Saturday the matter was brought to the attention of the administration on Friday. Since then, the secretary of the panchayat has been suspended in connection with the incident, he said.
Mr. Sakhamuri said that he would visit the Panchayat together with the Superintendent of Police, M. Sree Abhinav, for an investigation.
The Therku Thittai panchayat has six members of the ward, including two who belong to the Adi-Dravidar community, while the others are Hindu caste.
Claiming that she has been the victim of caste discrimination since she was elected president in January, Ms. Kumar accused Mr. Raj and three other members of the ward did not allow her to function independently.
“I was not allowed to hoist the national tricolor on Republic Day in January. The vice president of the panchayat said his father would raise the flag instead. He and three other members of the ward, all of Hindu caste, insulted me and also forced me and another member of the Dalit neighborhood, Suganthi, to sit on the floor during the meetings while the rest sat on chairs, ”he said.
Ms. Kumar claimed that she had not been allowed to take her seat in the panchayat office. This was the routine for the last three meetings and the reason they said was that there were no suitable chairs available, he said.
Ms. Kumar said that in the broader interest of serving the people, she had been enduring continuous insult and disrespect.
“The situation has reached a level where continued silence would only strengthen his attitude and therefore I have decided to speak out,” he said.
The panchayat meetings are called solely by the vice president, who has been taking the position that “I am a woman and I know nothing and should remain silent.”
She accused him of challenging her to complain to any authority, including the District Collector. “He said that the officials would be bothered the least,” he alleged.
When contacted, a senior official said that caste-based discrimination had prevailed in the panchayat for some time. However, he dismissed claims by the panchayat president that she was not allowed to raise the national flag on Republic Day.
“The incident [being seated on the floor] It happened a few months ago and the photo appeared now and has gone viral. We have ordered the deputy director of Panchayats to carry out an investigation and file a complaint with the police to act in accordance with the provisions of the Programmed Castes and Tribes Act (Atrocity Prevention Act), ”he said.
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