Kambur Panchayat Secretary denies caste bias charge in bail plea

MADURAI: Kambur Panchayat Secretary Rooba, who was suspended from service over allegations of caste discrimination against a sanitation worker, told the court on Monday that the allegations against her were false and had been made with an ulterior motive.

The Madurai district administration suspended Rooba on September 7 after Melur police registered a case against her under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act following a complaint by a sanitation worker, T Sasikala, from the village.

Sasikala alleged in her complaint that Rooba had humiliated her by referring to her caste, followed a two-tumbler system in the panchayat and forced her and three other sanitation workers to clean the houses of members of the Scheduled Caste.

However, Rooba denied the charges in a petition filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, seeking a direction to the Sessions Judge, Special Court for Trial of Cases under the SC/ST (POA) Act, to consider her bail application and dispose of it on the same day of her surrender.

Rooba alleged that Punitha, the previous secretary of Kambur Panchayat, had instigated the sanitation workers to lodge a complaint against her.

She further alleged that Sasikala developed personal vengeance and animosity towards her after she warned her for not performing her sanitation duties. Hence, Sasikala lodged the complaint with an ulterior motive to cause prejudice to Rooba and jeopardise her career by misusing the provisions of the SC/ST (POA) Act, she alleged.

Rooba informed the court that no such incident of caste discrimination, as alleged by Sasikala in her complaint, had taken place.

After hearing the submissions of the petitioner's counsel, the court directed Rooba to surrender before the trial court by September 28.