The V. Kalathur police in neighbouring Perambalur district has registered a case against a section of residents of Pasumbalur village for allegedly threatening revenue officials when they went to set up a quarantine facility at the village.
The incident took place on May 3 when a revenue team went to the village to set up a quarantine facility at the government high school for a group of persons of the district who had returned from Chennai in the wake of spread of COVID-19.
Police sources said the revenue team, including Veppanthattai Tahsildar R. Kavitha, had made necessary arrangements at the school to serve as an institutional quarantine. On coming to know of this, a group of villagers reportedly besieged the Tahsildar and the revenue officials and expressed their opposition to set up a quarantine facility at Pasumbalur.
The sources said the villagers allegedly abused the Tahsildar and the revenue team besides threatening them with dire consequences. Attempts by the Tahsildar and the revenue team members to drive home the rationale behind setting up the quarantine facility at the village failed to evoke positive response from the villagers.
The villagers also threatened to douse themselves with kerosene and consume poison if the team went ahead with their proposed plan. The team dropped the plan owing to angry reactions from the villagers. The Tahsildar and the revenue team conveyed the entire incident to the District Collector.
Based on complaints from the Tahsildar and the Village Administrative Officer of Pasumbalur, the V. Kalathur Police has registered a case against 30 villagers of Pasumbalur.