PERAMBALUR: Slapped with "fines", seven families in Kottarakunnu of the district allege that they been ostracised for not agreeing to the kangaroo court's decision. According to sources, over 300 families reside in Kottarakunnu of Malayappatti panchayat, of which 130 families belong to the Scheduled Tribes community.
Among them, a group of six hold a kangaroo court (community court) every month. Fines are imposed on those who do not attend the court and if their directions are not respected. They also punish those who fail to pay up the fine. K Kannan (56), a farmer resident, has a son and a daughter. In 2020, he said his daughter fell in love with a boy from the same caste and got married without the family's knowledge.
When the family raised an objection, the girl's brother assaulted her. Learning about the incident, the village committee ordered punishment for the girl's brother. Later, they fined him Rs 50,000 for assaulting the girl and not taking the matter to them. "The villagers have stopped speaking to us when the committee issued a warning," said Kannan.
He also lodged a police complaint regarding this. Similarly, families of M Manikandan (40), T Velmurugan (40) and T Sekar (45) alleged that have also been ostracised for refusing to give a portion of their lands to the village committee for "their needs".
Meanwhile, M Chandrasekhar (40) said he and his family members have come under similar treatment for failing to pay the fines imposed over not attending the kangaroo court regularly. C Palaniyappan (48), a government bus conductor, married his daughter off to a boy from another caste. Therefore, his family has been ostracised, he said.
Similarly, P Gunasekar (45), who retired from the Tiruchy railway hospital about a decade ago, said he was fined Rs 50,000 for not visiting the village in many years and added that he was ostracised when he opposed the committee's decision. The village committee has banned villagers from talking to any member of the ostracised families.
We are not invited to their family or public functions. Even if someone dies in our family, only the ostracised families attend. We are not even allowed to enter the temple. They do not even come to work in our fields, making it difficult for us to do farming, the families alleged.
When contacted, a member of the village committee M Suresh, denied the allegations. He said that the practice does not exist any more. He added that the families had filed a case in Arumbavur police station against them with false claims. District Revenue Officer M Vadivel Prabhu told TNIE, "I was not aware of the issue. I have directed the tahsildar concerned to verify the issue."