LIFE mission applicant locked inside Kasaragod panchayat office? Police register case

KASARAGOD: An applicant who came to the Panchayat office to enquire about the anomalies in the LIFE mission scheme was allegedly locked inside a room by authorities. According to the complaint, Adkathbail native Savithri was locked inside a room in Mogral Puthur panchayat office by VEO Abdul Nasser.

Savitri had demolished her old house after learning that she had been allotted a house under the LIFE scheme. However, the officials later admitted to having committed a mistake in name selection and informed her that she was mistakenly included in the list. Since then, she has been visiting the office for clarification from the officials. On Saturday, Savitri came to meet the VEO to demand the return of all the documents she had given. VEO's unwillingness to return the documents resulted in a dispute. After the bitter dispute, it is alleged that Savitri was locked inside a room by the officials.

Health Education Standing Committee President Pramila Majal and other members created an uproar over the issue which made the officials unlock the door and free Savithri. A case was registered against the VEO on Savitri's complaint that she was locked in the office.

The police also registered a case against Pramila Majal, Savitri and Usha on the complaint filed by VEO Abdul Nasser alleging that they obstructed the official duty. The VEO says Savitri's name is not in the Life Mission scheme. VEO termed the incident of locking up Savitri as baseless.