A 64-year-old petitioner was allegedly punched in the chest by a duty police sub-inspector (SI) at Ungaludan Stalin camp, which was held at Government Middle School in Sathur village near Arcot town in Ranipet on Wednesday, after he asked for an acknowledgement for the petition he filed at the camp.A video of the SI hitting the aged petitioner went viral across social media platforms, inviting public outcry over the incident. Police identified the injured petitioner as Venkatapathy, a native of Sathur village that comes under Arcot panchayat union in the district. He retired from the Department of Cooperatives in 2018. Since then, along with his wife V. Gnana Soundarya, 60, who is a person with disability, Venketapathy was living with his daughter near Arcot town.“Being a native of Sathur village, I have been petitioning various government authorities for the past six years to conserve its forest land from encroachments. The petition at Ungaludan Stalin camp was also for the same purpose,” Venketapathy said.Police said it was around noon when Venketapathy gave his petition to Mohammed Shahabuddin, Village Administrative Officer (VAO) for Sathur village, at the camp. After initial reluctance, the petition was received by revenue officials at the camp. However, when Venketapathy asked for an acknowledgement, revenue officials refused to give it as he had been petitioning various authorities on the same issue many times earlier. As this progressed into a heated argument, the duty SI of Arcot Taluk police, Prabhakaran, intervened and allegedly hit Venketapathy on his chest.Later, Venketapathy complained of pain. He was admitted to the Government Taluk Hospital in Walajah, where his condition is said to be stable. Meanwhile, based on a complaint by VAO Shahabuddin, the police registered a case against Ventapathy under Section 221 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions. Further probe is under way.Published - September 03, 2025 09:01 pm IST