Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday told the Assembly that the CBCID is presently in the process of gathering records and expert opinions, and can be expected to make arrests soon in relation to the November 2012 violence against Dalits in Dharmapuri district.
Responding to a plea by CPI’s Valparai MLA M Arumugham that the government take action in the matter, Jayalalithaa gave the House a snapshot of what had transpired and an update on the situation. She told the Assembly that affected Dalit families had been placed in temporary shelters till permanent shelter had been put up, and the government had provided them with food and a borewell for drinking water. She also said the government had provided financial aid to them of `78.95 crore. She added that her administration had also passed an order to construct 99 green housing units for the affected Dalit families.
She said the government had filed a detailed reply to the Madras High Court on the aid, while hearing a PIL asking for the case to be shifted from the CBCID to the CBI. The HC had asked the government to file a reply on the transfer of the case to the CBI, she said. “The violence is being investigated by the CBCID. It is collecting records and can be expected to make arrests soon,” said Jayalalithaa.