Cuddalore: Tension gripped Pudupettai near Panruti in Cuddalore district after a woman set herself ablaze inside the local police station premises following a dispute over her husband’s detention in connection with a clash over allocation of work under the rural employment scheme. The woman, identified as L Kanmani, sustained severe burn injuries and has been admitted to the Panruti Govt Hospital.Trouble erupted in Oraiyur village near Panruti between Kanmani, who serves as a worksite supervisor under the rural employment scheme, and panchayat clerk Arul over the allocation of work. Following an altercation, Kanmani lodged a complaint at the Pudupettai police station alleging that Arul had assaulted her, while Arul filed a counter-complaint accusing Kanmani and her husband, Latchathipathi, of attacking him.Police summoned both parties to the station for an inquiry. During the proceedings, police detained Latchathipathi over allegations of assaulting the panchayat clerk. Kanmani pleaded with the officers to release her husband, maintaining that he had not committed anything wrong. When her pleas went unheeded, she suddenly doused herself with petrol and set herself on fire inside the police station.Personnel at the station rushed to extinguish the flames and shifted the injured woman to the Panruti Govt Hospital. As news of the incident spread, Kanmani’s relatives gathered in large numbers outside the police station and staged a road blockade, demanding strict action against the police personnel involved.
