MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the investigating officer to complete the investigation into alleged caste discrimination by a panchayat secretary against a sanitation worker near Melur and file the charge sheet within three months.

Justice Vijay Kumar also directed the police to provide protection to the victim, Sasikala.

Sasikala (37), a sanitation worker in Kambur panchayat, alleged in her petition that the panchayat secretary, Roopa, of Kambur panchayat in Kottampatti panchayat union, humiliated and threatened her by referring to her caste.

She alleged that Roopa, who belongs to a dominant caste, forced her and a few other sanitation workers to clean the Scheduled Caste streets on July 21 with the intention of ill-treating and humiliating them.

She further claimed that on July 24 the secretary forced her to carry her footwear in her hand, and that a two-tumbler system was followed in the panchayat.

Sasikala filed a complaint with the Block Development Officer and the police on August 31.

She later attempted to end her life, allegedly because some persons had threatened her to withdraw the complaint. She was rescued and is undergoing treatment at the Melur Government Hospital.

In her petition, she asked the court to direct the police to conduct an impartial inquiry and to collect CCTV footage and attendance register records for the investigation.

Based on her complaint, Melur police registered a case against Roopa under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. A Deputy Superintendent of Police is investigating the case. The district administration has suspended Roopa from service.