Alagiri chargesheeted in tahsildar case

MADURAI: Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri and some of his supporters have been charge­sheeted for the alleged attack of the Melur tahsildar during the run-up to the recent Assembly election.On April 1, Melur tahsildar M Kalimuthu, who was also the assistant returning officer of Melur constituency during the Assembly election, was allegedly beaten up after he videographed Alagiri and his supporters holding talks inside the Sri Valladikarar Swamy in Vellaloor village near Melur with local party representatives to seek support for DMK candidate R Rani, who was contesting from the Melur seat.When the videographer began recording the proceedings inside the temple, DMK union secretary Ragupathy, Madurai Corporation Deputy Mayor P M Mannan and others yelled at him, ordering him not to shoot Alagiri. The videographer then handed over the camera to Kalimuthu and ran away.The tahsildar was then reportedly thrashed by Alagiri’s supporters. Kalimuthu lodged a police complaint, based on which a case was registered against Alagiri and his men. But later, he retracted his statement and claimed that he was not abused and assaulted by Alagiri and his men. He said the “squabble” inside the temple was because he had entered the premises with footwear.But, with the change of guard in the State, Kalimuthu again had a change of mind. He admitted that he was assaulted and was forced to retract his complaint.Alagiri and his men have been charged under several sections of the IPC, including section 147 (unlawful assembly), 332 (assault of government official) and 149 (common criminal intention).Although the chargesheet, running into more than 100 pages, was filed on Thursday, Alagiri and three others had obtained anticipatory bail in the case two months ago.