VILLUPURAM: Leave it to the enterprising Indians to blur the thin line between what’s legitimate and what’s not. The result: a patently illegal deed passes off as a perfectly legal initiative. This is what happened in Ranganathapuram panchayat near Kallakurichi, where the officials organised an auction process to bestow their blessings on the highest bidder for unhindered sale of illicit arrack.
While the unofficial auction is not new to the hinterland, as the sources say, what brought the nefarious nexus out in the open was an attack on a group of youth opposed to the bidding process on Wednesday.
Sources said, officials of the local village panchayat recently decided to auction an illicit arrack shop to the highest bidder. Shady sellers from across the district made a beeline for the village to bag the illegally floated tender. The winner bagged the contract for a yearly payment of `2 lakh.
Meanwhile, some youth reached the spot and questioned the fairness of holding such a drive.
While the youth were listing out the harms of allowing illicit arrack shop in the village, the new contractor and his henchmen, along with the panchayat officials, beat them up. On Wednesday afternoon, nearly 20 youth from the village knocked at Kallakuruchi deputy superintendent of police’s office, seeking action against their assailants.
As DSP Kuppusamy was away, his subordinates received the complaint and it was forwarded to the Varanjaram police station. Meanwhile, the Varanjaram police said, they were yet to receive a copy of the complaint.
Source said some policemen from the Varanjaram station supported arrack sellers, as they greased their palms. They urged the DSP to directly inquire into the issue.