KRISHNAGIRI: Heated arguments broke out after caste Hindus reportedly prevented the Dalit residents of Kumarapatti near Ettipatti from burying the mortal remains of a 64-year-old woman in their burial ground. After nearly five hours, the caste Hindus relented, but imposed a ban on future burials.
For the past eight decades, over 20 Dalit families residing in the village have been using the burial ground near a lake. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, when Dalits tried to bury Peruma (64), who passed away on Tuesday, they were reportedly stopped and intimidated by caste Hindus. This led to a heated argument.
Speaking to TNIE, Thirumal, son of the deceased, said, “Bodies of my grandfather, father and brother have been buried in the same ground. Suddenly, they (caste Hindus) erect a wall and call it their land. This is not the first time such an incident is happening in Kumarapatti. A few days ago, I submitted a petition to the collector, superintendent of police and the officials of the Revenue Department. However, no action was taken.”
“Although similar issues have cropped up before, this time the issue came to a head. They threatened us not to use the place again,” he added.
When contacted, Village Administrative Officer Kalidas claimed to be unaware of the incident. He also assured to look into the issue. Collector Dr S Prabhakaran and Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer Sethulingam were unavailable for comments.
Municipal supervisor gets 5-yr jail for casteist slur
Virudhunagar: A special court for the trial of cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act here sentenced a municipality supervisor to five years imprisonment for making casteist remarks against a sanitary staff when the latter asked him for money to buy brooms. Judge Sumathi Saipriya also imposed Rs 11,000 fine on the supervisor. The case of the complainant Panchavarnam (47) was that when she worked as a sanitary staff in Sundarapandian Municipality, Srivilliputhur in 2013, she asked for money from supervisor Manivannan to buy brooms. Apparently, an argument broke out between the two, and Manivannan reportedly made casteist remarks against her. Based on the sanitary staff’s complaint, Krishnankoil Police filed an FIR.