Tamil Nadu - Madurai
Dalits attacked for touching 'ceremonial umbrella'
Staff Reporter
Caste Hindus claim they had "defiled" it
Group armed with sticks and weapons is said to have abused 3 youths
Members of VCK and Dalits of Ambedkar Street stage road roko
MADURAI: Three Dalit youths are alleged to have been attacked by a
Caste Hindu group for touching the sacred ceremonial umbrella (kovil
kudai) of the Ayyappan Temple during a ritual procession at Uthangudi
on the outskirts of Madurai.
The group, armed with sticks and weapons, is said to have abused
Prathap (19), P. Vinod Kumar (19) and Kannan (20) of Ambedkar Street,
Uthangudi, by their caste names and attacked them claiming they had
"defiled" the umbrella with their touch on Saturday night.
Dalit women were not spared as the group entered the street and
attacked them; a pregnant woman Lakshmi (21) is undergoing treatment
at the Government Rajaji Hospital.
Police were yet to file a first information report after members of
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Dalits of Ambedkar Street staged a
road roko.
The Othakadai police filed cases against Vannappan, Ravichandran,
vice-president, Uthangudi panchayat, Ambiga, Senthil, Palani Kumar,
Sasi Kumar, Nagaraj, 'Auto' Selvam and K. P. Pandi of Uthangudi, under
Sections 147, 323, 452, 307 of the Indian Penal Code and Section
3(1)(10) of the Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act 1989 on Sunday.
Team members of Evidence, a non-governmental organisation based in
Madurai working among Dalits, conducted an enquiry and found that the
assertion of Dalits under the VCK and claiming their rights were the
major reasons behind the attack.
A. Kathir, executive director, Evidence, wanted the State government
to provide adequate compensation to the Dalits who were attacked and
also urged the district administration to take action against the
office-bearers of Uthangudi panchayat who were involved in the attack.
Attacks citing defilement due to touch was on the rise and Dalits
joining queues at ration shops and at photo sessions for medical
insurance had invited the wrath of Caste Hindus in the recent past.
Complaints in this regard had been sent to the National Human Rights
Commission and State Human Rights Commission, he said.
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