COIMBATORE: The district police have expanded the investigation into a brutal attack on the husband of a DMK councillor at Odayakulam near Pollachi on September 23 to examine charges of caste-based violence, after the victim’s family accused the police of initially treating the attack as the fallout of a land dispute.
According to sources, the right arm of the victim — M Murugan (52), the husband of Odayakulam town panchayat ward 13 councillor Vijayavani — was hacked off allegedly by his neighbour, V Aruchamy (45), on September 23.
Murugan’s severed right arm was reattached after an eight-hour-long surgical procedure, and he has been under treatment, said Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Dean Dr M Geethanjali.
Framing the attack as a land dispute, Anaimalai police initially registered a case under sections 296(b) (obscene acts and songs) and 109(1) (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and arrested Aruchamy.
However, the victim’s family accused the police of covering up the caste-based violence and not properly recording their complaint.
‘No scope of land dispute as two houses don’t share boundary’
Murugan’s younger daughter, M Priyadharshini, claimed that a quarrel broke out between Vijayavani, who belongs to an SC community, and Aruchamy and his wife, who belong to the BC community, after local body workers were denied entry into the suspect’s house, allegedly on caste grounds, for carrying out dengue control measures. “She [my mother] was abused on the grounds of her caste. Following that, Aruchamy chased my father and brutally hacked him to avenge the incident,” she alleged.
Accusing the police of shielding the suspect, she claimed there was no scope for a land dispute as the two houses do not share a common boundary and that another house is located in between the two. A police officer said that allegations related to caste-based violence came to light during the probe, and they are now being probed alongside the original charges.
Meanwhile, State SC/ST Commission member S Selvakumar met the victim at the CMCH on Saturday and assured him of a detailed investigation. Speaking to reporters later, Selvakumar said police had informed him that after obtaining community certificates from both sides, a case would be registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and government relief would be arranged for the victim.