Munnar: In an vindicative act for demolishing an illegally constructed building, a gang of goons attacked Chinnakanal panchayt office here and brutally manhandled the staff. The police arrested four persons in connection with the incident. The arrested were identified as Gopi aka Rajan, Antony, Muthukumar and Vijay. Gopi is a private contractor. The police are trying to find out more people involved in the incident.
On Monday, the revenue team had demolished the illegal buildings constructed near Chinnakanal power house and village office. Following this, a 7-member gang attacked the panchayat office by 8 at night carrying machetes and tree branches.
Panchayat secretary T Ranjan who is differently-abled, accountant Sreekumar, other staff Raman, Manu and Sumesh were admitted to Adimali taluk hospital with injuries. Sreekumar suffered fracture on his arm and leg and Raman on his arm in the attack.
The staff were staying in a room close to the panchayat office. When they heard noises during night and rushed to the spot, the goons beat them up also. Secretary Ranjan said that they attacked using machetes and tree branches.
The panchayat secretary had issued a stop memo for the illegal construction of a building of a person identified as Joy George near Chinnakanal village office. The collector also inspected the construction on Sunday and ordered to demolish it. Following this, the revenue team demolished the building on Monday morning.
The injured staff had earlier stated that the goons might have attacked them in revenge for the demolition. They also said that the attack was led by Gopi who is the contractor of the building.
Published: 25 Aug 2020, 09:52 am IST
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