CHENNAI: The Gummidipoondi police have booked seven people, including the village panchayat president, for barring entry to people from the SC community at the temple in Vazhuthalamedu in Tiruvallur, during a temple festival on August 9.
The police said during the kumbhabhishekam festival of a temple there, caste Hindus barred people from the SC community from walking on public roads and entering the temple.
The issue was then taken up with the district authorities and police. Ponneri sub-collector Waghe Sanket Balwant and Tiruvallur SP R Srinivasa Perumal arranged for talks between both parties. However, talks failed and a consensus could not be reached, the temple was sealed by temple authorities. Police personnel were stationed at the temple..
On Sunday, a person from the SC community lodged a complaint with the Gummidipoondi police about the incident. After inquiry, police booked Devaraj, Raghunathan, Subramani, Vazhuthalamedu panchayat president Manimekalai, Ettiyappan, Murugan, and Munuswamy under sections of BNS and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.