Panchayat vice-president held for manhandling police official

Kasargod, Feb 11: East Eleri Panchayat vice president James Panthamackal was arrested for manhandling a senior police official as the policeman team tried resisting moves to dig a bore well at Narkilakkad, near the hilly pocket of Chittarikkal, some 50 km east of Kanhangad.

The incident occurred around 11.30 p.m. on Thursday after a truck laden with digging equipment started its works without obtaining consent from the district administration, which had made permission for digging bore wells mandatory after reports of sharp decline in ground water level.

Commotion at venue

There was commotion at the venue as the police team led by Chittarikkal Sub Inspector P.V. Rajan tried taking the truck into custody after learning that no permission had been granted to execute the works.

In the altercation Mr. Panthamackal, a contractor in the area, who floated the influential Democratic Development Front (DDF) by breaking away with the Congress owing to a rift in seat allocation ahead of the 2015 local body polls, manhandled the police official for obstructing the bore-well digging works.

Mr. Panthamackal, who was arrested under the provisions of Kerala Police Act, was released on bail early on Friday, police sources here said.