Tension prevailed at the office of PWD Chief Engineer in Pollachi as a group of people, including temporary PWD staff, condemned Kerala police for serving them notice to appear before a court in a seven-month old case.

Forty persons including 18 temporary staff of PWD working in Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) were served notice by the Kerala police for their alleged involvement in a road roko at Parambikulam on September 13, 2016, which resulted in a cane charge.

The incident was related to case, when a group of PWD officials from the State were prevented by Kerala Forest officials from entering the PAP dam site on September 10 last.

As a retaliation, PWD had cancelled a bus, transporting school children of Tamil families staying at PAP dam site in Kerala, to take and bring back them from the site to school near Anamalai, leading to a picketing by Tamils on September 13 and blocking Government and tourist vehicles.

This prompted Kerala police to resort to cane charge to disperse them and some injured in the melee.

The Parambikulam police had registered a case under various sections of IPC including 353, (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 506 (i) (criminal intimidation).

Police has asked a PWD official N. Thyagaraj and bus driver Ponnusamy to appear before them. Similarly the 40 persons were also asked to appear before a Magistrate court in Chittur, when the trial begins in the case.