In yet another disturbing case, a woman Village Administrative Officer (VAO) was assaulted at her residence in Namakkal by members of the sand mafia. The attackers barged into her home but were restrained by neighbors after she cried out for help. She was later admitted to the hospital with injuries. Police have since confirmed the arrest of those involved.
According to reports, Sivagami had earlier received information about illegal sand smuggling in her jurisdiction and rushed to the spot to prevent the activity. Angered by her intervention, the smugglers alerted a man identified as Munjunur Srinivasan, who allegedly threatened the officer, declaring that he would continue sand mining and warning that she could be killed if she tried to stop them. Following the confrontation, Sivagami lodged a complaint with her Tahsildar.
Later that day, Srinivasan allegedly telephoned Sivagami’s husband, issuing fresh threats. He reportedly attempted to malign her character and warned that he would harm her if she did not “behave.” Hours later, he stormed into Sivagami’s residence, physically assaulted her by pulling her hair, pushing her, and kicking her in the chest. The attack left her with injuries to her hand, and she fainted due to high blood pressure before being rushed to the hospital.
Hearing the commotion, relatives and neighbors intervened, restrained Srinivasan, and handed him over to the police. The incident has sparked widespread condemnation across Tamil Nadu, highlighting once again the growing menace of the sand mafia and the vulnerability of government officers who take a stand against illegal mining.
This assault has drawn outrage across the state, as it comes amid a series of violent attacks in recent years on upright VAOs who attempted to curb illegal sand mining operations several of whom have even been brutally murdered in the line of duty.
From her hospital bed, VAO Sivagami narrated her ordeal, “My name is Sivagami. I work as a Village Administrative Officer (VAO) in Palamedu village, Thiruchengodu. Yesterday morning, while I was at work, I received information about illegal sand smuggling in my village. I went to the field and stopped them. The smugglers called Srinivasan from Munjunur and told him that the VAO has stopped them. He then threatened me, saying they would continue to smuggle sand and asked what I could do about it. He said, “I will do what I want. You can’t do anything to me. If you stop us, we will kill you by running you over with a vehicle.” We complained about this to our Tahsildar.
After I came home, Munjunur Srinivasan called my husband and said, “Your wife is not allowing me to dig out sand. I will kill her. Ask her to behave herself.” He knew he couldn’t do anything to me professionally, so he planned to devastate my personal life. He called my husband and spoke ill of me, trying to create a rift between my husband and me. He threatened my husband too. My husband informed me about this immediately and came home, fearing further consequences. As he expected, Munjunur Srinivasan came to our home and threatened us again. He held me by my hair and pushed me. He kicked me in the chest. My hand was injured. I fainted because of the high blood pressure. Then, I was admitted to the hospital. My relatives heard the commotion, caught him, and took him to the police station.”
The incident has triggered a storm of criticism. Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai condemned the DMK government in a strongly worded statement, saying, “A Village Administrative Officer (VAO) was brutally attacked in her residence in Namakkal district. Her only “crime” was that she stood up against and stopped illegal sand mining in her jurisdiction. This is the grim “reward” an honest officer gets today in TN. This is not an isolated incident; time and again, government officials and even common citizens who dare to speak against the sand mafia, drug mafia, or land grabbers are being silenced with violence. Under the DMK regime, nothing is legal, nothing is safe, and no honest officer is protected. Lawlessness has become governance, and goondaism has become the new normal.”
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