The president of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Federation was allegedly manhandled by a group of police personnel at Veeranandapuram, near Kattumannarkovil, over an argument regarding removal of encroachments on Thursday.
Police sources said that a team of Revenue officials, accompanied by police personnel, were engaged in removing encroachments for a road widening project in Veeranandapuram. A group of farmers, led by Federation president K.V. Elangeeran, sought time and appealed to the officials to stop the eviction.
When the officials refused, an argument broke out between the farmers and the police personnel. In the melee, Mr. Elangeeran was pushed aside and dragged into a police vehicle. He was later taken to the Kattumannarkovil General Hospital.
The video of the incident went viral, drawing condemnation from Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri and former Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam of the DMK.
